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Fifty Years of Buchtel 



FIFTY YEARS 

of 
BUCHTEL 



(1870—1920) 



Published under the Auspices 
of the Buchtel College 
Alumni Association 



A. I. SPANTON, '99 

Editor 



AKRON, OHIO 
19 2 2 



13*^^' 



^^ 







I* 






PREFACE 

THE original plan was to publish this History in the 
spring of 1920, coincident with the celebration of the 
semi-centennial of the founding of Buchtel College. 
This could not be done, however, owing to the fact that sev- 
eral chapters were not completed in time; and it has not been 
possible to publish the History until now. 

This leads us to say a word about the general plan of the 
writing of the book. As soon as the decision was made to 
publish a history of the College, it was agreed to have an 
editor-in-chief who should have charge of the general plan- 
ning and supervision, and to ask different alumni and others 
to contribute the several chapters. This method has been fol- 
lowed. Such an arrangement has both advantages and dis- 
advantages. The result is likely to be a gain in interest and 
variety, but at the sacrifice of unity and completeness. It is 
the hope of the editor that in this case the gain will more than 
compensate for the loss. 

The work of the editor has been to plan the volume — its 
contents, scope, and arrangement; to write Chapters I and II 
and portions of several other chapters, especially VIII, XI, 
XIV, and XVIII; and to revise, as might seem needful, all 
material contributed by others. In exercising this last-men- 
tioned function, he has aimed to avoid the Scylla and 
Charybdis both of too much and of too little revision. He 
has left the material, as far as possible, in the form handed in, 
in order that interference with the individual styles and points 
of view might be at a minimum. At the same time he has not 
hesitated to exercise to the full his editorial liberty; but has 
used the editorial shears generously, adding, subtracting, rear- 
ranging, and in other ways changing the material, whenever it 



ii PREFACE 

seemed desirable to do so. Some chapters appear almost 
without chcmge; others have been modified but slightly; some 
have been thoroughly revised. 

The editor desires to express here his very sincere thanks 
to all who have contributed to the History. Where so many 
have helped, it may seem in bad taste to make special men- 
tion of any. "Comparisons are odorous!" as the stupid Dog- 
berry brilliantly blundered. Yet it is but just to mention 
particularly C. R. Olin, '85, secretary of the University, 
who not only has contributed Chapters V and XII, but has 
been constant in his readiness to furnish facts and figures to 
other contributors; Mrs. Susie Chamberlain Cole, a member 
of the first class graduated from Buchtel, who has contributed 
portions of Chapters IV and IX, and whose intimate knowl- 
edge of the early history of the College has proved invaluable ; 
Mrs. H. E. Simmons, '06, who, in addition to writing Chapter 
VII, has given cheerfully and unstintingly of her time to the 
task of compiling the Appendix; and, most of all, to Presi- 
dent Parke R. Kolbe, '01, of the University, who has written 
Chapters X, XV, and the first part of XIX, and whose keen 
interest and wise counsel have been unfailing in both the 
initiating and the carrying out of the enterprise of publishing 
this History. 

Credit for compiling and writing the various chapters be- 
longs to the following persons: 

Chapters I and II — The editor. 

Chapter III— Charles B. Wright, '80. 

Chapter IV (Part I) — Mrs. Susie Chamberlain Cole, '73. 

Chapter IV (Part II)— Mary B. Jewett, '76. 

Chapter V—C. R. OHn, '85; Mrs. Lily Theiss Neal, '14. 

Chapter VI — Amelia Schoeninger, '98. 

Chapter VII — Mrs. Agnes Whiton Simmons, '06. 

Chapter VIII — Alfred Herberich, '11; the editor. 

Chapter IX— Mrs. Susie C. Cole. '73; Doctor O. E. Ohn. 

Chapter X— P. R. Kolbe. '01 . 

Chapter XI — Doctor C. M. Knight; the editor. (The tribute 
to Doctor Knight in this chapter was written by Joseph 
H. James, '94.) 



PREFACE Hi 

Chapter XII— C. R. Olin. '85. 

Chapter XIII — Charles L. Bulger, '08. 

Chapter XIV — (This chapter was to have been written by 
Robert J. Osborne, '93, but serious illness, which later 
resulted in his death, prevented Mr. Osborne from mak- 
ing more than a beginning. Further material was con- 
tributed by Grover Walker, '11, and Carita McEbright, 
ex-'86, and the editor then completed the chapter.) 

Chapter XV— P. R. Kolbe, '01. 

Chapter XVI — Mrs. Lydia Voris Kolbe, ex-'03; Inez Parshall, 
'02; Mrs. Mary Iredell Knight, ex-'08; Mrs. Marjorie 
Means McNeil, '10; Karl Butler, ex-'06; Frank Wie- 
land, '90; Rodney Sutton, '21 ; Howard Rohan, '10; 
Albert J. Froebe, '22 ; Lida Botzum, ' 1 0. 

Chapter XVII (Part I)— Franklin G. Wieland, '90. 

Chapter XVII (Part II)— Maude Herndon, '01. 

Chapter XVIII— Walker Buel, ex-' 11 ; the editor. 

Chapter XIX (Part I)— P. R. Kolbe, '01. 

Chapter XIX (Part II)— Joseph C. Osborne, '19. 

Appendix — Mrs. Agnes Whiton Simmons, '06. 

Securing material for certain chapters has been attended 
with unusual difficulty. At the start it was found that no 
copies of The Buchteliie from 1892 to 1904 were available, 
and one of the first tasks of the editor was to attempt to fill 
this gap. His efforts were only partially successful. One of 
the great needs still remaining is a complete file of The Buch- 
telite for these years. We appreciate most heartily the co- 
operation of all who responded to the appeal for missing 
numbers; particularly to Eva E. Dean, '94; Mrs. H. S. 
Mallory, '97; Margaret T. James, '97; and Mary L. James, 
'00. 

As this History is intended to cover the fifty years from 
1870 to 1920, and as most of it was written prior to June, 
1920, the material in the various chapters does not reach be- 
yond that date unless special mention of the fact is made. 

No one can be more conscious than is the editor of the 
defects of this volume. As it goes to press, his feeling is that 
it is not so much an adequate history of the first fifty years of 
the College as materials to help in the making of such a his- 



iv PREFACE 

tory; and he hopes very earnestly that ere long someone with 
a keen interest in the subject, who has the necessary time to 
give to the task, will undertake to do with painstaking thor- 
oughness what it has been impossible to do in the present work. 
Until that time comes, we trust the volume will not fail to be 
of real worth to all who are interested in the history of Buchtel 
College. 

A. I. Spanton, '99. 
The Municipal University, 
Akron, Ohio. 



CONTENTS 

PAGES 

Chapter I: The Founding .--. ^- ■■•: ■■-■-■■-; ''^^ 

A denominational college, "the child of the Ohio Universalist ^nve^'i 
,ion" _ Events leading up to the founding — How Akron secured Buchtel 
College — John R. Buchtel's generous gif t — The corporators — First 
Board of Trustees — Choosing a name — Laying the cornerstone — 
Horace Greeley's address — Doctor McCollester chosen first president — 
Dedication and installation — First Buchtel song— Mrs. Soule's dedica- 
tion hymn. 

Chapter II: The Founders .-.- - ■- ... .^.-- ^ 24-43 

John R. Buchtel — Mrs. Buchtel — Other founders: H. F. Miller, Henry 
Blandy, J. S. Cantwell, George Messenger, E. L. Rexford, E. P. Green, 
N. D. Tibbals, George T. Perkins, H. L. Canfield, Andrew Willson, 
Avery Spicer, A. C. Voris, S. M. Burnham, George W. Grouse- 
Poem, Founder s Day. 

Chapter III: The Administrations of Presidents McCollester and 

Rexford — ; ■- 44-d/ 

President McCollester's training and experience — Framing the courses ot 
study — Comparison of the curriculum with those of Yale and Middlebury 

Able faculty — Professors Kolbe, Fraunfelter, Knight, and Choate — 

Weaknesses: too close connection between collegiate and preparatory de- 
partments, and too intimate relationship between college and church — 
President Rexford — His thorough familiarity with Buchtel -Stabilizing 
quality of his presidency. 

Chapter IV: Reminiscences of the Early Years 58-72 

Part I: The First Year. . r .,• 

The first chapel exercises — Chaotic conditions — The presidents friendli- 
ness — 'The bell in the east tower — Board and room — Expenses — The 
■■garbage disposal plant" — The library — Meager laboratory equipment 
— Thorough work nevertheless — Discipline rigid: the Laws and Regula- 
tions. 

Part II: Early Days. 

Methods of making out students' class-schedules — Meager social life — - 
Public oral examinations — Written examinations — An experiment with 
■■the honor system" — Rhetorical exercises — Poem, The College on the 
Hill. 

Chapter V: The Administration of President Cone 73-90 

Election of Doctor Cone — Favorable comments — His previous work as 
author — Qualities needed in a college president — Doctor Cone's achieve- 
ments at Buchtel: a stronger faculty, improved courses of study, addition 
of new departments — Financial crisis — President Cone resigns — Work 
of Professors Kolbe, Fraunfelter, and Knight — Faculty, by depart- 
ments — Work of Professors Howe, Claypole, Parsons, Jewett, and others 
— Athletic field purchased — Grouse Gymnasium — Poem, Alma Maler 
True. 



vi CONTENTS 

PAGES 

Chapter VI: The Administrations of Doctor Knight and President 

Priest „ 91-103 

Doctor Knight's administration — Financial struggles — Doctor Priest 
called — His training and personality — Critical days for the College — 
Resignation of Professors Claypole and Garrigues and the Misses Gifford, 
Stockman, and Bortle — Plans for science hall — The fire of 1899 — 
Temporary arrangements for continuing work — Plans for "the new 
Buchtel" — Building of Buchtel Hall, the Academy Building, and the 
heating plant — Adoption of the elective system — Other academic 
changes — President Priest resigns — Summary — Poem, Marching Through 
Buchtel. 

Chapter VII: The Administration of President Church 104-119 

President Church's training, experience, and personality — ' His keen public 
spirit — Need of a girls' dormitory — Curtis Cottage built — Andrew 
Carnegie offers $25,(X)0 towards a chemistry building — The Knight 
Chemical Laboratory — Improvements in the athletic field — Further 
financial struggles — The money-raising campaign of 1910 — Academic 
changes — Course in rubber chemistry introduced — Student organizations 

— Tree Day instituted — The Commencement Reunion of 1909 — The 
faculty — Student attendance — Poem, Our Buchtel. 

Chapter VIII: The Administration of President Kolbe 120-141 

The crisis: Buchtel a local college, but with neither denominational nor 
local support — Doctor Parke R. Kolbe chosen president — His exper- 
ience and training — His plan for a municipal university — The trustees 
offer the College to Akron — Conditions of the offer — Referred by 
Charter Commission to the City Council — Offer accepted — First Board 
of Directors — Preparatory School discontinued — New schools and de- 
partments: College of Engineering, Curtis School of Home Economics, 
Department of City Tests, faculty lectures, evening classes — The ideal 
of service — Increased attendance — Rapid growth of all departments — 
New buildings: Engineering Laboratory, Carl F. Kolbe Hall — Presi- 
dent Kolbe's achievement — Dean Spanton — The Buchtel Semi-Centen- 
nial — Poem, Men of Akron. 

Chapter IX: The Preparatory Department 142-164 

The first year: little distinction between college students and "preps;" 
teachers and course of study; students who later won distinction — The 
second year : teachers. Professor Mayo, changes in curriculum — The 
third year: Miss Gifford chosen principal; her character and personality; 
testimonials to her fine influence and efficient work; changes in curriculum; 
the Normal Department — Other teachers of the '70's: Miss Stockman, 
George A. Peckham, W. D. Shipman, and others — Later history — 
Sharper division between college and "prepdom" — Customs and tradi- 
tions — Commencement exercises — Professors Bates and Howe, Mary 
Gladwin, Miss Merrill, Miss Bortle, the Findleys, C. R. Olin — Social 
life — Miss Gifford resigns — O. E. Olin becomes principal — His train- 
ing and experience — Curriculum and faculty — The fire of 1899 — 
Temporary arrangements — The "School of Pharmacy" — The new 
building — Name changed to Buchtel Academy — Course of study re- 
organized — Godfrey Schaible principal — Administration of Charles O. 
Rundell — Higher scholastic standards — Academy discontinued. 

Chapter X: The Faculty and the Curriculum 165-187 

Colleges fifty years ago — Buchtel's early years: faculty, curriculum, 
an ambitious program, no sharp differentiation of departments and courses 

— Development of curriculum : the three periods — Period of Prescribed 
Curriculum: entrance requirements, "irregular" courses, no elective system, 
required studies — Period of Elective System — Period of Expansion: 



CONTENTS vii 

PAGES 

the fire of 1899 and its effects, President Church and his work, the Muni- 
cipal University of Akron — New schools and departments — The En- 
gineering College: Dean Ayer, "the Cincinnati plan," faculty, beneficial 
results — Curtis School — The new library building — The Evening 
College — Growth of faculty and student body — History of departments 
of instruction: philosophy, ancient languages, modern languages, science, 
English, mathematics, law, elocution, history — Present standing. 

Chapter XI: The Teacher 188-216 

"There were giants in those days:" Professors Carl F. Kolbe, Fraun- 
felter. Knight, and Claypole — Other teachers of power: Professors Par- 
sons, Jewett, Bates, Howe, Orth, Brookover — Belonging to both the older 
and the newer Buchtel: Secretary C. R. Olin, Professors O. E. Olin, 
Egbert, and Rockwell, Dean Spanton, President Kolbe — Others of the 
present faculty: Deans Thompson and Ayer, Professors Simmons, Bulger, 
and Plowman, Coach Sef ton — Poem, The Cold and the Blue. 

Chapter XII: Gifts and Donors 217-236 

Incompleteness of early records — A. B. Tinker chosen financial secre- 
tary — The first appraisal — Contributors to original fund of $60,000 — 
Endowment and other funds — Gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel — Gift 
of General Bierce — The Messenger gifts — Hilton professorship — Pierce 
professorship — The Kelly gift — The Ainsworth gifts — Ashton Prize 
Fund — Library Fund — Willson fund for theological professorship — 
Pendleton Law Prize Fund — Ryder professorship — William Pitt Curtis 
Fund — Current Expense Funds of 1902 and 1911 — The McCollester 
gifts — Financial campaign of 1910 — Crosley Library Fund — Scholar- 
ships — Alumni Prize Fund — Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes — Grounds 

— The Spicer Hill Cemetery — Mr. Buchtel's additions to campus — Pres- 
ent value of campus — The athletic field — Buildings — The original 
building — The observatory — Crouse Gymnasium — Baseball cage — 
Science hall started and later abandoned — Buchtel Hall — Academy 
Building — Heating plant — Curtis Cottage — Knight Chemical Labora- 
tory — Carl F. Kolbe Hall — Engineering Laboratory. 

Chapter XIII : Athletics 237-267 

Baseball in the seventies — Buchtel College Cadets — Tennis and fencing 

— Crouse Gymnasium built — Buchtel College Athletic Association 
formed — Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association formed — The nine- 
ties — Athletic field purchased — Baseball in the early nineties — Begin- 
nings of football — Athletic director employed — J. W. Heisman — Base- 
ball cage built — End of the State Association — Heisman resigns — 
Heisman's reminiscences of those days — Discouraging situation 1894 to 
1904 — Beginnings of basketball — Buchtel defeats Yale — The Fisher 
prizes — Eligibility rules — Three things needed: better management, a 
coach, additional funds — Faculty manager of athletics — Coaches Bradley 
and Weed — Coach Haggerty — The revival — Football in 1910 — The 
game with W. Va. Wesleyan in 1913 — Professor Bulger as faculty 
manager — Reorganization — Athletic field enclosed — Admitted to Ohio 
Athletic Conference — Haggerty resigns — His splendid work for Buchtel 

— Coming of Coach Sefton — The discouraging start — His personality — 
His fine work — Athletics since he came — State championships in basket- 
ball—Poem, Old Buchtel. 

Chapter XIV: Literary Activities 268-292 

Literary societies: Cary, Bryant, Everett, Buchtel Union — Their de- 
cline — The Century — Debating clubs — Rhetoricals — The Junior Ex. 

— Elocution — Ashton Contests — Dramatics — Music — Oratorical con- 
tests — "Bob" Tucker's victory — Poem, Robert Tucker. 



CONTENTS 



PAGES 

Chapter XV: College Journalism 293-305 

The Buchlel Record — The Buchtelite — The annuals: The Argo, The 
Buchlel, The Telbuch — The Alumni Quarterly — Poem, Memories. ■ 

Chapter XVI: Fraternities and Sororities 306-331 

Kappa Kappa Gamma — Delta Gamma — Phi Mu — Delta Tau Delta — : 
Phi Delta Theta — Lone Star — Zeta Alpha Epsilon — Lambda Chi 
Alpha — Honorary societies: Phi Sigma Alpha, O H M, Lance and 
Helmet — Poem, College Days. 

Chapter XVII: Student Social Life 332-354 

Part I: The Seventies and the Eighties. 

The fraternities — Evening "socials" — The dances — Boarding clubs — 
Sundays — The tragedy of the Prince Albert suit — Advantages of a 
small college. 

Part II: The Nineties and Later. 

Favorable location — The freshman "Reception" — Initiations — Class 
socials — Entertaining the seniors — Evening "socials" — The Woman's 
League — Dances — Holidays — Tree Day — The A. F. G, Picnic — 
Fraternities and sororities — Aunty Brown and the Old Shoe — Other 
social activities — Poem. 

Chapter XVIII: Traditions and Fun 355-377 

The two periods : before the fire and after — Yet both one — The fun 
of disobeying rules — Some pranks — Nightshirt parades — Initiating the 
"'freshie" — Raiding freshman socials — 'Borrowing" chapel furniture — 
Fun with the Observatory — "Cremations" — "Willie-Boys and Molly- 
coddles" — That '80 rock — "Slipping one over" on the professor — 
Professor Bates — More pranks — Poem, Dear Old Buchlel. 

Chapter XIX: Buchtel in the Great War 378-396 

Part I: The Work of Students and Faculty. 

Students and faculty in active service — What the women did — The S. 
A. T. C. — Work of the different schools and departments — The En- 
gineering College — The department of chemistry — Evening classes — 
Curtis School — The department of social sciences — The department of 
physical training — Other departments — Personal work of faculty mem- 
bers. 

Part II: Life in the S. A. T. C. 

Why the S. A. T. C? — Purpose and plan — Description of Akron 
University unit — Fun and recreation — The band and the orchestra — 
The "Y" — The "flu" — Excellences and defects of the S. A. T. C. 

Part III: Letter from Mary Gladwin, '87. 

Poem, The Refugees — Quotation from Emerson's Voluntaries. 

Appendix 397-446 

Original incorporators of the College — Presidents of the Board of Trus- 
tees — Trustees of the College — Directors of the University — Chairmen 
of the Board of Directors — Clerk of the Board of Directors — Presi- 
dents of the College — Secretaries of the College — Treasurers of the 
College — Financial Agents of the College — Faculty — Alumni — Ad- 
vanced Degrees — Presidents of the Alumni Association — Geographical 
distribution of alumni — Occupations of alumni — First Laws and Regu- 
lations of the College — Attendance — Members of Phi Sigma Alpha — 
Winners of Ashton Prizes — Winners of Alumni Prizes — Winners of 
Pendleton Law Prize — Winners in Oratorical Contests — Winners of 
Tomlinson prize — Athletic scores. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Old College Building Frontispiece 

Mr. and Mrs. John R. Buchtel Page 24 



ALMA MATER 

Written by President A. B. Church 

Close beside Cuyahoga's waters. 

Stream of amber hue, 
O'er old Buchtel, Summit's glory. 

Waves the gold and blue. 

Chorus 
Hail we Buchtel ! Sound her praises ! 

Speed them on the gale! 
Ever stand our Alma Mater! 

Buchtel, hail, all hail! 

Greeks may sing of Mount Olympus, 

Jats of Punjab lore; 
We will sing, in classic story, 

Buchtel evermore. 

Fair the light that gilds thy homestead, 

Rich in memory's store; 
Glad when Alma Mater calls us; 

Filial as of yore. 



CHAPTER I 
THE FOUNDING 

LIKE most American colleges, Buchtel College was born 
of religious faith and denominational loyalty. It was 
the child of the Ohio Universalist Convention. Its 
inception was in the desire of the Universalists of Ohio for an 
institution in which their boys and girls might get an education 
beyond what the high schools furnished, and get it where their 
religious opinions would be no cause — as was often the case 
in those days — for social ostracism and unkind treatment. At 
first there was no thought of establishing a college, but only 
an academy. 

During 1865 and the early part of 1866 the Universalists 
of Ohio contributed $20,000 to an endowment fund of 
$100,000 for Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. This 
intensified their wish for a school of their denomination in 
their own state. But it was not until June, 1 867, at their 
annual convention held in Mount Gilead, Morrow County, 
that they took any definite step toward the founding of such 
a school. The Reverend Andrew Willson, chairman of the 
Committee on Education, reporting for that committee, spoke 
of the Universalist schools at Canton, New York, and Gales- 
burg, Illinois, and then added, "But, as it is every day becom- 
ing more apparent to our minds that our young men and women 
need an institution nearer home, where they may receive in- 
struction by those who are fully imbued with the spirit of our 
faith, your committee would therefore recommend that the 
Committee on Education be instructed to prepare a plan for 
the establishment of a State Seminary, and report the same 



2 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

at the next session of the State Convention." The report was 
received with enthusiasm and unanimously adopted. Every- 
body was anxious for such a school. 

At the meeting of the Ohio Universalist Convention the 
next year, held in Dayton, Mr. Willson offered a plan calling 
for a minimum of $50,000 in pledged subscriptions before 
establishing the seminary. A most important question was 
where the school should be located. After much discussion 
it was agreed that, other conditions being satisfactory, it should 
go to the town or city subscribing the most money, but the 
amount subscribed must be at least $10,000. Soon several 
towns were seriously thinking of securing the academy, chief 
among them being Oxford, Mount Gilead, and Kent. 

The 1869 State Convention, meeting at McConnellsville, 
authorized the trustees and the Committee on Education "to 
proceed to establish a denominational school in the state when- 
ever a suitable location may be secured and requisite funds 
pledged." 

Later in the same year the Universalist General Convention 
met at Buffalo, New York, and, as the year 1870 was to be 
recognized as the centennial year of Universalism in America, 
it being one hundred years from the landing of John Murray, 
the founder of the denomination, it was resolved that $200,000 
should be raised as a permanent fund for the use of the 
Convention. 

This fund was to be raised by a general canvass among the 
Universalist people throughout the United States, but as the 
state of Ohio was already committed to the work of founding 
a school, it was agreed that Ohio should not be canvassed for 
this permanent fund, but that the school founded by the Ohio 
Convention in 1 870 should be considered its centennial offering 
to the denomination. This explains the meaning of the legend 
on the cornerstone which can be seen in the vestibule of Buch- 



THE FOUNDING 3 

tel Hall, upon which is inscribed, "The Centenary of Univer- 
salism in America, 1870." 

At a convention held in Springboro, Ohio, in November, 
1869, the trustees of the Ohio Convention employed the 
Reverend Henry F. Miller, then of Dublin, Indiana, to under- 
take the work of raising $50,000 and finding a suitable site 
for the location of the school. Mr. Miller entered upon his 
new duties January 1 , 1 870. The work went forward rapidly. 
In a few months he had secured the requisite pledges, had 
looked over the field thoroughly, and had determined to 
recommend Mount Gilead as the most desirable location. 
Greatly pleased with the outlook, he decided to call a meet- 
ing of the trustees and the committee in Columbus to take 
final action. 

That Buchtel College was located in Akron must be cred- 
ited largely to three men : the Reverend Andrew Willson, the 
Reverend H. L. Canfield, and John R. Buchtel. The lead- 
ing rival of Mount Gilead had been Kent. Mr. Willson, 
pastor of the Universalist Church there, strongly desired to 
secure the school for his home town. Mr. Miller visited Kent, 
looked over the field, consulted with prominent individuals in 
and out of the church, found a great deal of interest manifested 
in the proposed enterprise, and in many ways was favorably 
impressed, but unfortunately the town in those years had the 
unpleasant reputation of being an unhealthy place because of 
malaria and typhoid fever, and there was so much opposition 
to the town as a site for the school on this account that all 
ideas of locating it there had to be abandoned. 

Then it was that Mr. Willson resolved to use all his in- 
fluence to bring the school to Akron. There were a few 
Universalist families residing in Akron, but no Universalist 
church. Mr. Willson conceived the idea of locating the school 
in Akron and using its chapel, when it should be erected, as a 
place for holding religious services with a view to the organiza- 



4 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

tion of a church. He brought Mr. Miller to Akron and to- 
gether they interviewed various parties in the interest of their 
school, among others, John R. Buchtel. They received, how- 
ever, little encouragement, learning that Mr. Buchtel had al- 
ready written his will in favor of the city of Akron for the 
founding of a free public library, and that he did not care 
to change his mind or alter his will. When they went away 
they had virtually abandoned the idea of selecting Akron as 
the location. 

Mr. Miller then visited various other points in the state, 
and at last decided that Mount Gilead, in Morrow County, 
was the most desirable place for the school. Mount Gilead 
is very near the geographical center of the state, it is a healthy 
town, there was a Universal ist church there, and the business 
men of the place manifested a commendable anxiety to secure 
the school. 

How it happened that Akron instead of Mount Gilead 
secured Buchtel College, is best told in the modest words of 
the Reverend H. L. Canfield. The editor of this History 
wrote to Doctor Canfield — for several years ago Buchtel Col- 
lege honored him with the degree of D. D. — requesting some 
reminiscences of the early days of Buchtel. In response he 
received a delightful letter, written in a firm, strong hand, not 
in the least betraying the writer's four score years and ten. 
From this letter we quote, letting Doctor Canfield speak for 
himself of his significant visit to Akron on Sunday, January 9, 
1870, and of what came of it: 

"Having a Sunday that was not engaged, I wrote to S. M. 
Burnham, whom I had met once or twice, and asked him if I 
could hold a service in Akron on that Sunday. The answer 
was favorable, and I went. It proved to be the coldest day of 
a cold winter. The service was held in Empire Hall. It was 
not well warmed, and so, with my overcoat closely buttoned 
about me, and with chattering teeth, I tried to preach. I think 
there were eight persons present. Nothing about the sermon 



THE FOUNDING 

pleased them so well as its ending; they did not want an eve- 
ning service. 

"I went to Avery Spicer's for the night. In the evening Mr. 
Spicer's sons-in-law, Coggeshall and Trowbridge, and their 
wives, were present, and I think Mr. Burnham also came in. 
During the evening the question of the Academy and its loca- 
tion was discussed, and someone suggested that the cemetery 
grounds which were to be vacated and from which the bodies 
were to be removed to the new cemetery, would be a line site 
for a school-building, and someone else suggested that if John R. 
Buchtel could be properly approached by someone, he might be 
induced to take hold of an enterprise of that kind, or at least 
to give it substantial aid. 

"So, that evening we builded a 'Castle in the air' and called it 
a Universalist Academy. 

"My head and heart were so full of the scheme that I wrote 
the Reverend Mr. Miller the next morning, saying, 'Don't decide 
upon a location for the school till you have been to Akron again, 
for I am strongly of the opinion that there is something there 
worth looking after.' The answer came promptly that he had 
already issued his call for a meeting at Columbus, and that Mt. 
Gilead would probably be the place decided upon. 'But,' he 
added, 'if Akron has any proposition to make to us, let them 
write, or send a delegation to the meeting at Columbus.' 

"Mt. Gilead was represented at that meeting by a number 
of her leading citizens and business men, with their ten-thousand- 
dollar pledge and their confident expectation of securing the school 
for their town. The result of the meeting was a vote to defer a 
final decision until Mr. Miller and the committee had visited 
Akron again. 

"The committee were favorably impressed with what they 
saw and heard in Akron, and Mr. Miller, learning that John R. 
Buchtel had a warm personal friend in the Reverend George 
Messenger, a retired Universalist clergyman of Springfield, Ohio, 
visited Mr. Messenger, interested him in the school project, and 
induced him to write to Mr. Buchtel, urging favorable considera- 
tion of the matter. The result of it all was that Mr. Buchtel 
became thoroughly interested and decided to revoke his will and 
devote at least a portion of his means to the building of the school. 

"Hitherto the Convention had contemplated only an academy, 
but as our high-school system was just being developed, and as 
Akron people were much interested in high-school education, the 
leading men thought there would not be enough difference be- 
tween the high school and such a school as was proposed, to 
make it worth their while. They said, 'Give us a college.' Mr. 
Miller replied, 'A college it shall be, but you must pay for it 
accordingly. If you desire a college in the city of Akron, Sum- 
mit county must give $60,000.' " 



6 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Mr. Buchtel subscribed $6,000 toward a building fund 
and pledged $25,000 for an endowment fund when the school 
should be established; that was more than one-half of the 
$60,000 required. 

As we have seen, at first Mr. Buchtel had shown little in- 
terest in the plan for a Universalist school in Akron, and one 
of the strongest factors in winning his hearty and generous 
support was the influence of the Reverend George Messenger 
of Springfield. During the later sixties Mr. Buchtel was a 
stranger to the Universalists of Ohio. They did not know 
him as one of their "household of faith." It is probable that 
of all the ministers attending those early meetings looking 
toward the establishing of a Universalist academy in Ohio, 
the only one who knew Mr. Buchtel was Mr. Messenger; 
and it is to him that much of the credit belongs for changing 
Mr. Buchtel's meager interest to a fine enthusiasm and whole- 
hearted devotion. A letter to the editor from the Reverend 
E. L. Rexford, D. D., of Columbus, Ohio, is interesting and 
informing on this point. Doctor Rexford was the second 
president of Buchtel College; he was also a member of the 
Committee on Education in 1 869 and 1 870 that had so much 
to do with its founding, and he has a most intimate knowledge 
of its early history. Doctor Rexford says: 

"Although we did not know Mr. Buchtel as a member of the 
Universalist Church, we soon discovered that he was a public- 
spirited citizen of Akron and had partially decided to put a 
considerable sum of money into a public library for his city. He 
was a partner in business with Lewis Miller of Akron, who was 
investing large amounts of money in the Methodist Church and 
its institutions, and wishing to keep in touch with Mr. Miller in 
public benefits he had decided on the Library scheme when Mr. 
Messenger saw him and placed before him the Universalist project 
for a college in Ohio. The idea pleased him and finally cap- 
tured his sympathies and determined his purpose." 

Mr. Buchtel's gift of $3 1 ,000 settled the question of loca- 
tion. The college had been offered to Akron on condition 



THE FOUNDING 7 

that the citizens of Summit County contribute $60,000 and 
suitable lands, and now that Mr. Buchtel had led with so 
generous a subscription the remainder was soon oversubscribed. 

On May 31, 1870, the trustees of the Ohio Universalist 
Convention and the Committee on Education met at the Sum- 
mit County Court House, voted unanimously to locate the col- 
lege in Akron, and authorized ten other persons to act with 
them as corporators. The entire list of seventeen corporators 
included: trustees — the Reverend H. L. Canfield, the 
Reverend J. S. Cantwell, the Reverend J. W. Henley, 
the Reverend Andrew Willson, O. F. Haymaker; Com- 
mittee on Education — the Reverend B. F. Eaton, the 
Reverend E. L. Rexford; resident freeholders of Sum- 
mit County — John R. Buchtel, N. D. Tibbals, E. P. 
Green, Colonel George T. Perkins, James A. Lantz, George 
Steese; and the Reverend H. F. Miller, the Reverend Wil- 
lard Spaulding of Cincinnati, the Reverend George Messenger 
of Springfield, and Henry Blandy of Zanesville. The cor- 
porators at once took the legal measures necessary; selected 
a name for the college; adopted articles of association and a 
seal; elected a board of trustees, into whose hands they de- 
livered all the property, including $62,000 in subscriptions, 
and $7,000 in real estate; and then adjourned to meet June 1 
to adopt by-laws and elect officers. 

The following eighteen persons were chosen trustees in the 
order named : for three years, John R. Buchtel, Akron ; Henry 
Blandy, Zanesville; Philip Wieland, Mount Gilead; J. D. 
Anger, Painesville; E. P. Green, Akron; George T. Per- 
kins, Akron; for two years, the Reverend H. L. Canfield, 
Peru; the Reverend E. L. Rexford, Columbus; General 
James Pierce, Sharpsville, Pennsylvania; J. F. Seiberling, 
Akron; the Reverend J. S. Cantwell, Cincinnati; N. D. Tib- 
bals, Akron; for one year, O. F. Haymaker, Kent; S. F. 
Burnham, Akron; J. R. Cochran, Erie, Pennsylvania; 



8 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Charles Foster; the Reverend George Messenger, Springfield; 
Avery Spicer, Akron. Ten of the trustees v^ere chosen by 
the corporators from their own number; the eight new mem- 
bers were Messrs. Wieland, Anger, Pierce, Seiberling, Burn- 
ham, Cochran, Foster, and Spicer. At the June meeting the 
Board organized by electing John R. Buchtel, president, and 
S. M. Burnham, secretary. George W. Crouse of Akron, 
not a member of the Board, was chosen treasurer. At the 
December meeting General A. C. Voris of Akron was elected 
to fill the unexpired term of Charles Foster, resigned. 

One of the most difficult matters the corporators had been 
called upon to decide was that of a name for the new institu- 
tion. All present felt the question of a name to be a most 
important one, and there was lengthy and vigorous discussion 
before a decision was reached. As Doctor H. L. Canfield 
was present, we shall let him tell the story : 

"I was a member of the board of trustees of the State Con- 
vention when the question of a name for the school was discussed 
and settled. The name 'Buchtel College' was proposed, but 
some strong objections were urged. First, the name was not 
euphonious, and it would probably be called 'Bucktail College.' 
Second, it was to be founded by a religious body, and Mr. 
Buchtel was not a religious man, but a man of the world, who 
perhaps sometimes let slip an oath or a cuss-word, and who cer- 
tainly kept wine upon his table and gave it to his guests. 

"The year 1870 was to be observed by the Universalists of 
America as their Centennial, dating from the arrival of John 
Murray upon our shores. The denomination had decided to 
raise a fund of $200,000 for denominational purposes, to be 
known as the Murray Fund. But the building of the college was 
to be accepted as Ohio's contribution to the work of the centenary 
year. So there were plenty of reasons why the college should 
be called 'Murray College,' or 'The Murray Centennial College' ; 
and these reasons were forcibly presented. 

"Finally, it was decided to ask Mr. Buchtel if he had any 
wish or choice in the matter of a name for the college. He was 
called in, and the question was put in plain words, 'Mr. Buchtel, 
have you anything to suggest, or any wish to express, with regard 
to the name the college shall bear?' 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'this is 
to be your college, not mine. I mean to help it financially as I 
may be able. If I live and am prospered I intend to give the 



THE FOUNDING 9 

college someday one hundred thousand dollars. You may call 
the college what you please.' 

"It was moved at once and voted unanimously that the insti- 
tution be known as 'Buchtel College.' 

"If anyone reading these lines is moved to say or to think that 
John R. Buchtel bought the name of the college for himself, let 
me say that such person has no just conception of the spirit of the 
occasion. If we had felt that he had made a bid for the name, it 
would have been given reluctantly, if at all. 

"John R. Buchtel was a great-hearted man, and while he 
greatly enjoyed the esteem and the good opinion of others, he 
was not in the market to purchase applause. Himself denied the 
privileges of any but most meager education, it was the joy of 
his life to help in giving the opportunities of education to those 
who aspired after them, and profited by them." 

Supplementing Doctor Canfield's account, it may be added 
that a motion was made to call the institution "Buchtel Uni- 
versalist College," but that motion was withdrawn in favor of 
Henry Blandy's motion that the name be "Buchtel College." 

In June, 1870, the Ohio Universalist Convention met at 
Kent. It being the centennial year of the Universalist Church 
in America, the attendance was unusually large. Interest in 
the college to be established was keener than ever, for the new 
school was to be the gift of the Ohio Universalists to the Cen- 
tenary. The report of what had been accomplished by the 
trustees and the Committee on Education was enthusiastically 
received, and the following resolutions were unanimously 
adopted : 

"Resolved, That this convention joyfully recognizes the suc- 
cess of the friends of Universalism in their efforts to establish a 
denominational institution of learning in this State; that we ap- 
preciate the magnificent gift of our friend and brother, Hon. John 
R. Buchtel of Akron, for this object, and pledge to him our 
cordial co-operation to make the enterprise so generously aided, a 
complete success. 

"Resolved, That having confidence in the man, in his honor, 
rectitude, integrity, in his disinterestedness in this friendly gift, in 
the positive manly virtues of his life, and the example which his 
history affords to the struggling youth of our country, we grate- 
fully recognize the wasdom which gives the Institution his name, 
and that will hereafter enable us to rank Buchtel College among 
the proudest monuments of our Centennial Year." 



10 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

The work now progressed with vigor. The necessary com- 
mittees were appointed and at once went to their tasks with a 
will. Plans were made for the erection of a college building 
on the most commanding site Akron afforded, the old Spicer 
cemetery "on the hill." This site, the gift of Avery Spicer, 
was a part of the original farm occupied by the first settler 
of Akron, Major Miner Spicer, Avery Spicer's father. T. W. 
Silloway of Boston was secured as architect, and later Noah 
Carter of Akron was employed to have charge of the work of 
construction. Ground was broken March 15, 1871. The 
first plan was to complete only the central portion of the 
building and the two middle wings with the money raised in 
Akron and vicinity, using the rest of the contributions to pay 
other necessary expenses, and postponing the building of the 
two outer wings until later. Fuller consideration, however, 
led to the adoption of the wiser plan of completing the entire 
building at once, and making an aggressive campaign for ad- 
ditional funds. The canvass for money was pushed vigor- 
ously, public meetings being held not only throughout Ohio, 
but in Michigan and Western Pennsylvania. 

By July 4 the foundation walls were completed, and on 
that day the cornerstone of the new building was laid by the 
Masonic order, no less a personage than Horace Greeley 
delivering the address. That same cornerstone, bearing the 
inscription, "Centenary of Universalism in America, 1870," 
passed unscathed through the fire of 1899 that made the 
splendid first building a mass of ruins, and was set in the 
wall on the east side of the entrance to the newer Buchtel Hall, 
where it may be seen today. 

The presence of Horace Greeley added greatly to the 
interest of the occasion. Such a crowd had never been known 
in Akron. Universalists came from all parts of Ohio, some 
of them arriving as early as the morning of the day before 
the exercises were to be held. Low railroad fares had been 



THE FOUNDING 11 

secured, and special trains were run to take care of the 
crowds. The number of strangers was said to be five thou- 
sand or more — a large number for the Akron of 1 871 . 

The memorable day was ushered in at midnight of the 
Third by a salute of thirty guns ; at sunrise was another salute 
of thirty-seven guns, and rousing salutes were fired at intervals 
throughout the day. The whole town was in gala attire. All 
along the line of march were numerous decorations and vari- 
ous mottoes, and at the entrance to the college grounds was 
a great arch of evergreens with flowers and banners and a 
large American flag. A banner over a gateway on College 
Street, then called Elm Street, attracted particular attention 
with this motto: 

"Greeley for President, Buchtel for College; 
Akron for enterprise, beauty, and knowledge," 

It was intended to have the exercises in the forenoon, the 
procession starting at 10 o'clock, and the addresses being fol- 
lowed with a picnic dinner, but rain prevented the carrying out 
of this program. The picnic dinner had to be abandoned, and 
the procession could not start until two. For those days it was 
a great procession. In it were distinguished visitors, the mayor 
and other city officials, the trustees and other officers of the 
college, the clergy, the various fraternal bodies, musical or- 
ganizations, and benevolent societies, and prominent citizens 
not included in the aforementioned groups. A newspaper re- 
port of the occasion says: 

"Special features of the procession were Babcock's Band, 
with their beautiful new uniforms; the Fire Department, gaily 
decked out; the handsomely caparisoned horses of the Eagle 
Hose Company; the showy regalia of the various societies; the 
veterans of the 29th O. V. I. ; the Glee Club barouche, dravm 
by four horses belonging to H. H. Brown, Esq. and decked out 
in an exceedingly fine manner; the body of Masons, preceded by 
Marble's Band, and comprising the officers of the Grand Lodge 
and a splendid body of Knights-Templar under command of 
Captain General H. L. Kent, of Kent." 



12 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

While the procession had been forming and marching, a 
vast crowd had gathered on the college grounds. A temporary 
floor of loose boards had been constructed over the finished 
basement for the officials and other notables, but the people 
swarmed over it until it was packed with two thousand eager 
faces. Conservative judges estimated the entire attendance at 
not less than ten thousand persons. Notwithstanding the im- 
mense gathering and the long delay, excellent order prevailed. 

The ceremony of laying the cornerstone was conducted by 
A. H. Newcomb, Grand Master of Masons of Ohio, and the 
other officers of the Grand Lodge. Following the Masonic 
Exercises the Glee Club sang, to the tune of "Yankee 
Doodle," a clever original song in praise of Mr. Buchtel. 
The song is quoted in full at the close of this chapter. 

The reference "Greeley for President" in this song, and 
further references of the kind during Mr. Greeley's stay in 
Akron, led a leading New York paper to say that he received 
his first nomination for the Presidency at the laying of the 
cornerstone of Buchtel College. 

Mr. Greeley had chosen for his subject, "Human Concep- 
tions of God As They Affect the Moral Education of Our 
Race." He confined himself closely to his manuscript, cind, 
as he had recovered but recently from a severe illness, his 
voice was less strong than usual; yet he held the attention of 
the vast audience, for even those who could not hear were 
pleased to have sight of a truly great man. Doctor Rexford 
says of the address : 

"The subject of Mr. Greeley's memorable address was one 
which few people would ever have dreamed of as being the choice 
of a man like Mr. Greeley, whose whole brain and heart seemed 
rocked by the storms of political and secular contests. He dis- 
cussed it with the reverent and spiritual fervor which those who 
intimately knew Mr. Greeley could easily anticipate. 

"The address was written on large sheets of paper in a coarse 
letter form, as I well remember. I held an umbrella over him on 



THE FOUNDING 13 

that hot Fourth of July, and as he spoke very deUberately, I 
could read each page in advance of his spoken word. It was a 
noble deliverance of a great soul." 

Mr. Greeley prefaced his address with a few remarks in 
which he criticized the narrowness and superficiality of the 
college education of that time. His words seem almost pro- 
phetic of the purposes and plans of the Akron University of 
today : 

"My objection," he said, "to college courses is that while 
there has been great advancement in the world in every depart- 
ment of human industry, there has not been a corresponding 
stride in the curriculum of college studies. I insist that our aver- 
age course tends directly to drive men into three pursuits or pro- 
fessions, which, however honorable, do not comprise the great 
professions which labor for the general good of mankind. And 
I hope to see the day when there will be a reform; when this 
college shall graduate a great and glorious body of young and 
earnest men in engineering, science, and a hundred different pur- 
suits, where knowledge is of great benefit to human kind." 

Of the address itself we have space to quote only the closing 
paragraph, an admirable statement of the function of the col- 
lege and of the futility of any scheme of education which 
omits the training of the moral sense : 

"This, then, I apprehend, is the proper work of the college — 
to appreciate and measure, and undistrustfully accept and com- 
mend, the gigantic strides which physical science is making in our 
day, yet not be swept away by them ; to welcome all that is true 
and beneficent in the impetuous currents of modern thought, but 
not to exaggerate their breadth and depth, nor accept their direc- 
tion as authoritative or final; to proffer a genial and gracious 
hospitality to whatever is nobly new, yet hold fast, and from time 
to time assert, that no discovery in science, no advances in human 
knowledge, and no conclusion of philosophy, can ever equal in 
importance that simple affirmation of the untaught Judean peasant, 
who long ago perceived and proclaimed that God is Love." 

At the close of Mr. Greeley's address, in response to re- 
peated calls, Mr. Buchtel spoke briefly, promising that every- 
thing possible would be done to make Buchtel College an 
institution of which Akron and all Ohio could be proud. "We 



14 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

don't intend," he said earnestly, "to pull a shingle from a 
single church, but will unite in suppressing evil and building 
up the morals and character of the city." 

In the evening an immense reception was given to Mr. 
Greeley at the home of Mr. Buchtel, corner of East Market 
and Union Streets, where the First Congregational church now 
stands. Several thousand attended. From half past seven 
until nine o'clock there was a continuous stream of admirers 
desirous to shake hands with the famous editor. Professor 
Charles B. Wright (Buchtel, '80) says: 

"My own home was in that neighborhood, and I well remem- 
ber the visiting crowds that overflowed the house and filled the 
lawn through all the summer evening. Nor shall I ever forget 
the picture of Mr. Greeley himself, with his spectacles and white 
fringe of beard, as he sat in an easy-chair in front of the house 
reading intently from a newspaper held in his left hand, and 
apparently oblivious to all besides, as a passing line of citizens 
shook in turn the other hand extended for their grasp. That 
scene is unique in my memory of receptions." 

Doctor E. L. Rexf ord thus pictures the scene : 

"Mr. Greeley sat in a large easy-chair under one of the great 
evergreens at the northeast section of the lawn. It was an inspir- 
ing scene when the old farmers of Summit County and surround- 
ing counties came by hundreds to shake his hand, while many 
said, *Mr. Greeley, you educated me politically through the col- 
umns of the Tri-hune — they divided the name of the paper in 
this way — and Mr. Greeley would bow and smile in his fatherly 
way, and sometimes would say, 'Well, well, I hope I did not 
lead you wrong,' or words similar. It was a memorable event, 
when people of all classes came to honor him and the occasion." 

There were toasts by Mr. Greeley and prominent Akron 
citizens. But still the people were not satisfied. As in the 
afternoon, they called repeatedly for Mr. Buchtel. In re- 
sponse, Mr. Buchtel said he was proud to think that the in- 
stitution would not graduate Methodists, or Baptists, or 
Universalists, but men; and not men alone, but women, too. 
"One end of the college is for ladies," he said, "and the other 
is for gentlemen; and both ends are just alike." So inter- 



THE FOUNDING 15 

ested was he in the college, he stated, that he was ready to 
sacrifice his very life for its success. 

It was a fitting close to a great day. 

Work on the new building was now hurried forward as 
rapidly as possible. By June, 1872, less than a year after 
the laying of the cornerstone, the exterior was completed. The 
only portion of the interior finished was the chapel. Plans 
had been made for the Ohio Universalist Convention to meet 
in the new college if possible, and work on the chapel had 
been rushed in order that the room might be ready for the 
gathering. The convention was large and enthusiastic. Dele- 
gates were present from almost every church in the state. For 
five years the Universalists of Ohio had been dreaming of their 
college and working to make the dream come true. Now it 
was a reality. The building was actually there. And what 
an imposing pile! Any city might well have been proud of 
so stately a structure. As long as it stood, it was easily the 
most majestic building for miles around. Two hundred and 
forty feet long, fifty-four feet wide, and five stories high, a 
harmonious blending of Doric, Gothic, and Norman, situated 
on the highest point in Akron, Buchtel College was a building 
so noble that from whatever direction one approached the city 
it was the first object he beheld, and at once impressed him 
with its stateliness and beauty. 

In the meantime the canvass for funds went steadily on. 
The Reverend H. F. Miller having given up his position as 
financial secretary April I , the Reverend D. C. Tomlinson 
had been appointed in his place. Both before and during the 
convention in June, earnest appeals were made to individuals 
cind local churches throughout the state to pay the cost of fur- 
nishing one or more rooms in the college building, the privilege 
of naming the room going to the church or person making the 
gift. Before the convention closed pledges had been secured 



16 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

to furnish nearly every room. Between $160,000 and 
$200,000 was spent on the building and furnishings. 

The committee appointed by the trustees to select a presi- 
dent had not been idle. Their first choice was the Reverend 
Doctor Thayer, but Doctor Thayer declined the position. 
The trustees then appointed Henry Blandy, who was going 
to New England shortly on business, a special committee to 
secure a suitable man. After conferring with prominent Uni- 
versalists, both clergymen and laymen, Mr. Blandy decided 
to recommend the Reverend Sullivan H. McCollester, a Uni- 
versalist clergyman, scholarly and cultured, who had traveled 
widely both in this country and in Europe, and who was 
commended highly as an admirable person for the presidency 
of the new college. At the request of the committee. Doctor 
McCollester visited Akron in March, 1872, with the result 
that he was offered the position, accepted, and moved to Akron 
the first of June of the same year. 

Formal exercises of dedication and installation took place 
on Friday, September 20. The printed program gives twenty 
items, from the Invocation by the Reverend Carlos Smith at 
10 A. M. to the Closing Prayer of the afternoon session; 
but the actual program was even more elaborate, for there 
were at least nine addresses in the afternoon, although the 
printed program mentions only five. 

The dedicatory exercises proper were held in the forenoon. 
T. W. Silloway, the architect, made a short address, the most 
significant part of which was his vision of the Greater Akron 
of the days to be. In words strangely prophetic he described 
a city of "elegant streets and broad thoroughfares, skirted with 
splendid mansions, residences of princely merchants, and a 
larger number of the goodly dwellings of a great industrious 
population; — fine avenues of commercial pursuits, great ware- 
houses, and busy highways of traffic." In his dream the 
"glorious history of Buchtel College" was to have no in- 



THE FOUNDING 17 

significant place in this greater city. At the close of his ad- 
dress, he delivered the keys to the trustees. On behalf of 
that body, Henry Blandy accepted the keys, expressing their 
great satisfaction in the work accomplished and praising all 
who had contributed to the success of the undertaking, es- 
pecially John R. Buchtel. The Reverend E. L. Rexford 
followed with the Dedicatory Prayer, at the close of which 
the entire audience joined in singing the Dedication Hymn, 
written by Mrs. Caroline A. Soule of New York. John R. 
Buchtel, president of the Board of Trustees, then installed 
the Reverend S. H. McCollester, D. D., as the first presi- 
dent of Buchtel College, and the members of the faculty, 
after which Henry Blandy presented the keys to Doctor Mc- 
Collester, who gave his inaugural address on "The Educa- 
tional Demands of the Nation." 

The address was a clear exposition of the need of universal 
education in democracy, and particularly of the value and the 
function of the American college. 

"What is, or should be, the specific work of the college?" the 
speaker asked. "It is just what the word 'educate' signifies, a 
development of what is in man. Therefore, the college is not 
expected to create, but to draw out the whole moral and intellec- 
tual power of the student. It is to help him take possession of 
himself. It is not to crush his passions, but to give control over 
them. It is not to smother conscience and reason, but to 
strengthen and render them active. 

"God has placed in the path of every student difficulties to be 
surmounted. The mission of the college is not to remove these, 
but to prepare the way to overcome them. — It realizes fully that 
all real growth is self-growth; that a splendid character is but 
the noble result of right choosing and right doing." 

He stated that college training must be three-fold : physical, 
intellectual, and moral ; the college must train the body of the 
student, teach him to think, and, most important of all, disci- 
pline the conscience and strengthen the will. 

As for the curriculum, it should be broad and inclusive. 
Otherwise a liberal education is impossible. The natural sci- 



18 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ences must be given larger place and more attention. The 
objection that the study of these sciences leads to materialism 
is foolish, for they "have to do with the vv^orks of the Supreme 
One and must lead from the natural to the spiritual." But 
language, literature, history, and philosophy are just as neces- 
sary to a liberal education as are the sciences. This is no less 
true of the classics than of modern languages. 

"I am aware the facts and phenomena of the sciences are 
attractive, if properly presented and studied; equally so are the 
principles of language. I know it is dull work to pursue Latin 
and Greek, as dead things. But let the mind of the student be 
quickened by a knowledge of the customs, motives, and char- 
acters of the authors; let him become familiar with the lands in 
which they dwelt, admiring the mountains, woods, and groves, 
which delighted them, and no longer would the scholar find the 
classics uninviting." 

Doctor McCollester's high conception of what Buchtel Col- 
lege ought to do for her students is well brought out in the 
following paragraph: 

"May minds be so instructed in this Institution that, as they 
shall go out from it into the varied callings of life, they will 
prize most of all their individuality in the sight of God. Then, 
as they become stockholders in mill or railroad, their minds and 
hearts will not, like belt and gearing, depend wholly for move- 
ment upon water-wheel or engine; or, as women, they will go 
forth thinking infinitely more of their nobler natures, than of the 
dress and ornaments adorning their persons ; or, as mechanics, they 
will see something superior to mere trades; or, as tillers of the 
soil, they will recognize an agency higher than that of the earth; 
or as lawyers, they will know of a jurisprudence more elevated 
than that of the State ; or, as ministers, they will think more of the 
exposition of truth than of rounded periods, or the praise of men; 
or, as physicians, they will care more for the results of their 
prescriptions than the amount of their charges; or, as teachers, 
they will pay more deference to quality than quantity in their 
instructions. In this way their education will render them masters 
of their professions, and not slaves to them. They will be free 
men and women in the sight of God." 

Most of the afternoon addresses were by visiting Univer- 
sal ist clergymen and educators, among them being the Rev- 



THE FOUNDING 19 

erend L. J. Fletcher of Buffalo, New York, representing the 
Universalist General Convention, and the Reverend George 
Moses, an Indian of the Delaware tribe. Two of the speakers 
were women, the Reverend Augusta J. Chapin and Mrs. 
Caroline A. Soule, the author of the Dedication Hymn. The 
Reverend Miss Chapin congratulated the new college most 
heartily on its being co-educational. She said she need look 
back only twelve or fifteen years to remember the time when 
there was not a school in which young women could have equal 
advantages with young men. She spoke earnestly of her own 
experience in seeking an education to fit her for the ministry, 
and how college after college absolutely refused to admit her 
because she was a woman. 

Nine days before the formal dedication, Buchtel College 
had opened its doors to students. The first day 90 were en- 
rolled, the second day the number increased to 127, and the 
total attendance for the first year was 2 1 7. The faculty 
numbered seven, including the president. It was a most aus- 
picious beginning. To the friends of the College the future 
seemed rich with promise. 



20 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

FIRST BUCHTEL SONG 

(An Akron man, W. Milton Clarke, wrote the following song, and 
he, together with "Uncle" Wils Robinson, Dr. Byron S. Chase, and 
Daniel R. Knight, sang it at the laying of the corner-stone of Buchtel 
College on July 4, 1871.) 

Air: Yankee Doodle 
Once on a time some men went out 

To see if they could find, sirs, 
In all the country round about 

A spot just to their mind, sirs, 
Where they an edifice might raise 

In which, if sense were heeded. 
The boys and girls in coming days 
Might learn the lore they needed. 
So they came round, and soon they found. 

Where Akron town was planted 
On the Connecticut Reserve — 
The very place they wanted. 

Chorus 
A Yankee Dutchman came to town 

And made machines for mowing, 
And reaping, too; so he came down 

To set the thing agoing. 
With thirty thousand of the pelf 

He'd saved from trade and labor, 
He said 'twas good to help one's self — 

Better to help a neighbor. 
In this way Buchtel (that's his name) 

Was bound to scatter knowledge; 
He gave them stamps, they'll give him fame — 

They'll build him Buchtel College. 

The little Cuyahoga river flows 

With more of pride than ever. 
The Big one murmurs as it goes, 

"That Dutchman's very clever." 
The sunhght falls on College Hill, 

And shines all day the brighter; 
At eve, the maids of Spicerville 

Trip o'er its grounds the lighter. 
The schoolboys' shout is ringing out: 

"Hurrah for Hght and knowledge i 
When tasks are done with Mrs. Stone,* 

We'll go to Buchtel College." 

*Mrs. Stone was for many years the very efficient principal of Akrons high school. 



THEFOUNDING 21 

And so this liberal citizen 

Who gives his stamps so freely. 
Is honored by the company 

Of good old Horace Greeley. 
And when a full report is made 

Of this great celebration, 
Remember that the Tribune's head 

May head this glorious nation. 
But if this thing should fail to be. 

It sure would be a pity, 
For the White House is his proper place 

And not in New York City. 

Then with this heartfelt sentiment 

I'll close this short rehearsal: 
May Buchtel College ever stand — 

Her fame be "Universal." 
And may its founder live to see 

For many generations 
His institution growing strong — 

An honor to the nations. 
May its foundations ever rest 

On rocky base — not sandy — 
And may its name become as great 

As Yankee Doodle Dandy. 



22 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

DEDICATION HYMN 

(This Dedication Hymn, composed for the occasion by Mrs. C. A. 
Soule of New York, was sung at the dedication of Buchtel College, 
September 22, 1872.) 

Air: Austrian Hymn 

A hundred years of our story 

Had garnered their heavy sheaves. 
Harvests of valor and glory. 

As brilliant as Autumn leaves. 
And tenderly then the reapers 

Of this golden, precious grain. 
Chanted the dirge of the sleepers 

In a soft and solemn strain. 

The dirge was only for sleepers; 

As its music died away. 
There rose from the voice of reapers 

The song of an op'ning day. 
Like martyrs crowding the altar. 

All pledging themselves anew 
In work of love ne'er to falter 

Which their hands may find to do. 

And now we review the story. 

As we gather in our sheaves. 
Harvests of valor and glory. 

And crown them with laurel leaves. 
Father Almighty ! we pray Thee 

To bless this work of our hands. 
And may it shed unceasingly 

Bright radiance o'er all lands. 

Where error bindeth its fetters, 

Where sloth holdeth prey in chain, 
May soldiers of science and letters 

Their triumph and honors gain! 
From North and South we will call them — 

The sons of our sainted sires; 
From East and West we will draw them 

To kindle these sacred fires! 



THEFOUNDING 23 

As the years shall tell their story. 

And reapers harvest the grain, 
In the flush of each year's glory 

Our loved will meet here again — 
Blessing Founder of this College, 

Praising our Father above 
For His bestowals of knowledge. 

And treasures of Infinite Love. 



CHAPTER II 
THE FOUNDERS 

THE specific services rendered Buchtel College in later 
years by the founders mentioned in the preceding 
chapter will be treated in their proper places in suc- 
ceeding portions of this History. Our special purpose in the 
present chapter is to tell of the life, work, and character of 
the man who, more than any other, was the founder of Buchtei 
College, and of his noble wife, who deserves to share with 
him all honor for his magnificent gift, with briefer mention of 
the services of other persons most active in the early days of 
the College. 

JOHN R. BUCHTEL 
In the stricter sense, neither John R. Buchtel nor any other 
individual was the founder of Buchtel College. Yale was 
not founded by him whose name it bears, neither was Harvard 
founded by the Reverend John Harvard, but each of these 
institutions was named in honor of the man who contributed 
most generously at its inception. In like manner, as we have 
seen in the preceding chapter, Buchtel College was founded by 
the Ohio Universalist Convention; but it was named for its 
most generous patron. With the understanding, therefore, 
that in this chapter the term "founder" is to be used, not in 
its strict sense, but in the sense of "patron," it may truthfully 
be asserted that the credit for founding Buchtel College be- 
longs peculiarly to John R. Buchtel. It is no disparagement 
to others who gave with a splendid generosity of both time 
and money, to say that had it not been for the munificence of 
this great-hearted man there would have been no "College on 



THE FOUNDERS 25 

the hill." And the present university into which the college 
of the earlier day has grown is indebted to him no less, for 
without the Buchtel College of yesterday there would be to- 
day no Municipal University of Akron. 

The life of Mr. Buchtel well illustrates what may be ac- 
complished in this country by any young man of humble birth 
who has intelligence, energy, great determination, integrity of 
character, and good habits, and who is willing to work hard 
and to economize. A poor boy, he made a large fortune 
honorably, and so used it as to win the high regard of his own 
generation and the gratitude of generations unborn. Says 
Emerson, "I admire the man who is riches." Mr. Buchtel 
was such a man : he not only had riches ; he Was riches. Great 
as were his material possessions, greater still was the man 
himself. 

John Richards Buchtel was a native of Summit County, 
Ohio, being born January 1 8, 1 820, in Green Township, then 
a part of the county of Stark. He was of German descent, 
his paternal ancestors having come from Germany at an early 
date. He was the oldest of five children. His father, John 
Buchtel, a farmer, was a man of remarkable physical strength. 
In his old age he greatly enjoyed telling of his early prowess, 
especially of how he could stand in a half-bushel measure 
and shoulder four bushels of wheat. The mother, Catherine 
Richards Buchtel, was a woman of unusual strength of char- 
acter. Undoubtedly from her John R. Buchtel inherited some 
of his finest traits. It is told that a prominent Akron clergy- 
man said to Mr. Buchtel soon after his mother's death, "I 
have often wondered how you came by your spirit of liber- 
ality, but when I looked on the face of your mother as she 
lay in her coffin the question was answered." 

Mr. Buchtel's boyhood, like that of other country boys of 
his day, was spent in hard labor on the farm. In his later 
teens he attempted new ventures, such as selling clocks and 



26 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

buying up horses, but they proved unprofitable, and he de- 
cided he had better stick to farming. On coming of age he 
settled down on one hundred acres which his father gave him 
on condition that he pay off the incumbrance of seven hundred 
dollars. Marrying in 1844, he continued farming, and even- 
tually moved to the Thornton farm of 210 acres, now one of 
the most populous portions of Akron. It is said that one year 
he had in a single wheat-field all the land west of Bowery 
Street and south of Exchange. In a few years he sold this 
farm at a good profit and bought another in La Porte County, 
Indiana. 

Mr. Buchtel's intention was to move to the La Porte farm, 
and no doubt he would have done so had it not been for an 
offer from Ball, Aultman and Company of Canton to accept 
a position as salesman. This firm was then manufacturing the 
Ohio mower and reaper, but later began to make the Buckeye, 
for many years one of the most famous makes. The accep- 
tance of this position changed the entire course of Mr. Buchtel's 
business career. He remained with the company nearly two 
years — until 1856 — and when, soon after he had left their 
employ, their works burned down, it was chiefly by his wise 
and courageous efforts that the company was successfully re- 
organized. In 1 864 he persuaded the firm to build a branch 
factory in Akron, and he himself superintended the construc- 
tion. Mr. Buchtel was the first president of this Buckeye 
Company, as the newly-organized branch of the company was 
popularly known, and was actively associated with the firm for 
eighteen years. 

The bringing of the Buckeye Works to Akron was an 
immense impetus to the material growth and prosperity of the 
city, several other leading industries, such as the Akron Iron 
Works and the Knife Works, being the result. In securing 
and keeping these industrial ventures Mr. Buchtel was ever 
one of the leading spirits. From the time of the organizing of 



THEFOUNDERS 27 

the Buckeye Company until he was stricken with paralysis in 
1887, there was hardly any important Akron enterprise of an 
industrial nature with which he was not more or less closely 
associated. 

But John R. Buchtel's business interests and activities were 
not confined to Akron. In 1877, in company with several 
other capitalists, he undertook what proved to be one of the 
most extensive and profitable ventures of his career, the de- 
velopment of the mineral resources of the Hocking Valley. 
The purchase comprised some of the most valuable coal and 
iron lands in the United States. How extensive was the 
project may be guessed from the statement that in the year 
1880 alone the company paid to the Hocking Valley Rail- 
road one million dollars for freight charges. For several years 
Mr. Buchtel had active management of the work in the Hock- 
ing Valley, and the remarkable success of the business was 
largely due to his wise and energetic conduct of the company's 
affairs. It was only fitting that the prosperous town which 
sprang up in the Valley should be named Buchtel in his honor. 

Remarkable, however, as was his energy, Mr. Buchtel was 
no longer a young man. The strain was beginning to tell. 
In 1882 he retired from the Buckeye Company and some 
other firms in which he had been actively interested; but he 
continued hard at work in his remaining enterprises until 1 887, 
when a stroke of paralysis while he was in the Hocking Valley 
compelled him to give up all active participation in business 
affairs. Five years later, on Monday, May 23, 1892, this 
great and good man passed from earth. 

A mere enumeration of his more important business activi- 
ties can give only a faint idea of the man, John R. Buchtel. 
He was not a mere money-maker; neither — what is far better 
■ — a mere money-giver. He gave more than his money — he 
gave himself; not only to business affairs, but to whatever he 
thought was for the good of his city and for the benefit of 



28 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

mankind. In an address at his funeral, J. Park Alexander, 
a prominent Akron citizen who had known him intimately for 
years, said: 

"To John R. Buchtel is due full credit for what Akron is 
today. He neither lagged nor shirked from his full share of any 
enterprise to build up Akron. — When Akron was a village, every 
step of improvement, each line of progress, every school, every 
church, all charities, had the assistance of this big-hearted man. 
— In every great contest that had for its object the betterment 
of the city or the inhabitants thereof, either morally, physically, 
intellectually, or religiously, John R. Buchtel was always on the 
right side — his banner never lowered when once a good cause was 
undertaken, until a complete victory was won." 

During the Civil War Mr. Buchtel rendered valuable serv- 
ice; he secured enlistments, raised bounty money, and, when 
others insisted that the quota demanded by the draft could not 
possibly be met, by his ceaseless energy and perseverance he 
turned failure into success. 

Never an office-seeker, Mr. Buchtel's abilities were such 
that again and again the office sought the man. While living 
in Coventry township, before he moved to Akron, he was 
assessor and justice of the peace, and filled other offices. After 
coming to Akron, at the urgent request of his friends he ac- 
cepted the office of township trustee for several times that he 
might secure and perfect certain important local improvements. 
In 1872 he was a presidential elector. Although a Republi- 
can in politics, he became a Prohibitionist as soon as temper- 
ance was made a political issue, and in 1874 was a candidate 
for Secretary of State on the Prohibition ticket. Governor 
Hayes appointed him one of the trustees of the State Agri- 
cultural College, which position he filled most acceptably, for 
some time being a member of the Executive Committee. 

Mr. Buchtel was a man of great energy. In the address 
from which we have already quoted, J. Park Alexander said: 

"Thirty to thirty-five years ago this dead friend was the Hfe- 
and motive power at which the dwellers of Akron, then a village 



THE FOUNDERS 29 

of three thousand people, were amazed. He could have been 
seen at the head of a procession of laborers in the twilight of 
morn and evening wanding their way to or from the harvest field 
and logging camp. He never said 'Go!' It was always the 
hearty, 'Come on, boys!' " 

When the Buckeye plant was built, he helped get out the 
timbers for the large shops, working in the woods every day. 
One who knew him then says that nothing could keep him from 
his work, but in storm and cold, no less than in pleasant 
weather, this rugged man could be seen, in high-topped boots, 
working clothes, and a slouch hat, doing the hardest sort of 
labor, not only with an abounding energy, but ever with a 
smile and words of cheer. 

John R. Buchtel had an invincible will. To begin a task 
meant, with him, to finish it, no matter what obstacles were in 
the way. He knew no such word as fail. This determined 
persistence crops out early, as the following story will show: 
One day, while sitting quietly under a maple-tree fishing with a 
pin-hook, he heard his mother calling, "Oh, John, come here!" 
"Yes, I'm coming," he answered. But he kept on fishing. 
The call was repeated several times, and still the little chap, 
who had had poor luck all afternoon, did not move. Soon he 
was surprised by the sudden appearance of his mother, who 
gave him a good, old-fashioned switching. As became a good 
boy, Johnny submitted meekly; but promptly resumed his 
fishing as soon as his mother had done. We hope he caught 
some fish; he caught what he deserved for his disobedience; 
surely his persistence deserved some recompense, too. 

Another story of his boyhood illustrates the same trait. 
The summer he was ten years old his father had a large 
number of harvest hands working for him, who would gather 
during their "nooning" in front of the house and perform vari- 
ous gymnastic feats. Of course little Johnny was an eager 
spectator, and longed to be able to do such "stunts" himself. 
The trick that pleased him most of all was walking on one's 



30 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

hands, and he tried repeatedly to do it, but without success 
Soon afterward, his mother, who had watched his efforts, 
missed him. She called, but there was no response. We 
may imagine her surprise when, on going in search of the little 
chap, she saw him in the garden, his feet sticking up in the 
air and his head buried in a large hole he had dug. It was 
characteristic of the boy, and, later, of the man. Having re- 
solved to do something, he was determined to do it; if not in 
one way, then in another. 

An incident of the trip abroad which Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel 
took in 1873 illustrates the same characteristic. While they 
were in Vienna there was a world reaper contest to decide 
which make of reaper was the best. It was a big event. Mr. 
Buchtel, keenly interested, and determined that the world 
medal should be won by an Akron machine, if possible, went 
early to the field where the contest was to be held, in order 
that he might watch the practice-driving of the man in charge 
of the "Buckeye." Much dissatisfied, he made up his mind 
what he would do, and when the start came he mounted the 
machine himself and drove the "Buckeye" to victory. 

The following story of Mr. Buchtel's determined will was 
told by Professor Carl F. Kolbe in an address on Founder's 
Day, 1902: 

"When, after the first term of college from September, 1872, 
to Christmas, I found it impossible to carry on my college duties 
in connection with my newspaper work, I felt compelled to re- 
sign. No provision having been made for a successor for the 
coming term, and the students insisting upon my return, I found 
Mr. Buchtel, one bitter cold morning, early before six o'clock, 
knocking at my door. Said he, 'Professor, I want you to come 
right back to college, and make college work your life's work.* 
I answered that this was rather unexpected, and that my busi- 
ness could not be neglected, as it would be if I returned. 'You 
sell your business,' said he; 'until then you can make temporary 
arrangements.' When I replied that this ought to be well con- 
sidered and talked over, and for that purpose invited him in out 
of the intense cold, he said: 'No, sir; there is nothing to con- 
sider; you make up your mind right here and now to return 



THE FOUNDERS 31 

and remain with us in college.' He did not cross the threshold 
of my house, but he knew that he had gained his point. What 
could I do? I had to promise on the spot to accede to his 
wishes, and at nine o'clock the same morning I was back in the 
classroom." 

There was no formality about Mr. Buchtel. He was simple, 
natural, sincere; in manner unconventional, at times almost 
blunt. In the address from which we have just quoted. Pro- 
fessor Carl F. Kolbe tells of being present at a fine faculty 
dinner given by Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel. At first a certain re- 
serve was noticeable, but when the host blurted out in his off- 
hand way that he wanted his guests to eat an abundance of 
turnips because they were "plenty and very cheap," all stiff- 
ness vanished. Professor Kolbe also relates the following 
incident as illustrative of Mr. Buchtel's quaintly informal way 
of doing things: 

"I was now to be presented, in my new capacity, to the 
gentlemen assembled at Mr. Buchtel's residence, among these our 
first president, just then elected. Dr. McCoUester. I well re- 
member that hot sultry July afternoon when I was invited to call. 
I found the distinguished company in the front yard, seated in 
the shade of the trees — a rather formidable array of wisdom and 
dignity, well suited to cause the novice some trepidation if he 
were so inclined. But Mr. Buchtel, in his inimitable, matter-of- 
fact way, regardless of any ceremony whatever, introduced me 
pleasantly with these words, 'Now, gentlemen, this is the man 
who is going to teach our girls and boys Dutch; and I think he 
is the right man.' This broke the ice, I began to feel better, 
and was quite ready to answer all their questions." 

Illustrating this same unconventional turn of mind is the 
story of how on one occasion, when Mr. Buchtel was a guest 
at a Christmas dinner, he was suddenly missed from the com- 
pany, but in a short time returned and said to the hostess, 
"Well, I have just been out in the kitchen looking at your 
turkey. I was afraid it wasn't big enough. You see, you 
Yankees are so stingy." 

Mr. Buchtel had a keen sense of humor. He enjoyed a 
good joke, even at his own expense. An Akron lady who 



32 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

had been the butt of several of his jokes determined to pay him 
back. One evening at a church social she asked him if he 
would be w^illing to help in the entertainment by taking the 
part of a Roman senator in a tableau. He seemed much 
pleased at the compliment, and evidently enjoyed having a 
cloak arranged about his shoulders as a toga, and ladies, 
young and old, placed around him to represent the daughters 
of "the Roman senator." When the curtain was drawn he 
stood there as proud and erect as any Roman of ancient days. 
Then the lady announced, "Friends, this is Brigham Young 
and his wives." At once he saw that this time the joke was 
on him, and joined most heartily in the laughter. 

Mr. Buchtel's quick wit is illustrated by his answer to an 
orthodox minister who told him he could not understand how 
he could be a Universalist. "Why don't you come with us?" 
asked the clergyman. "We have the largest numbers." Quick 
as a flash came the reply, "In my youth I was taught to fol- 
low the narrow way, in which but few walk. I shall not now 
forsake the teachings of my youth." 

Despite his iron will and blunt manner, Mr. Buchtel was 
a man of rare sympathy and unusual kindness of heart. He 
was a diamond in the rough. In his long career as an em- 
ployer, his relations with his workmen were of the most pleasant 
nature, due largely to his thoughtful treatment of them. One 
of his first considerations was the comfort and the prosperity 
of those in his employ. In the town of Buchtel that sprang 
up in the Hocking Valley he erected many houses, which he 
sold to his workmen at low prices and on the easiest terms. 
He also built a fine opera house for their entertainment. He 
was naturally kind and generous, and could not help despising 
anybody who was "stingy." His father said that, as a boy, 
John was unusually ready to give his money away, no matter 
how little he might have. In later years, when fortune pros- 
pered him, he made it his business to study how he could so 



THEFOUNDERS 33 

use his wealth as to do the largest good. Great as was his 
capacity for accumulating money, even greater was his gener- 
ous and intelligent use of it. 

In religious belief Mr. Buchtel was a staunch Universalist 
without being narrowly sectarian. Tolerant of other faiths, 
he gave liberally for all sorts of religious or charitable pur- 
poses, no matter what denomination might have the matter in 
charge. There was not a church in Akron that was not in- 
debted to him for some form of financial assistance. His 
father and mother had been members of the Evangelical 
Church (Albrechts). When a young man, he himself was 
an active Methodist, but, becoming dissatisfied with the doc- 
trines of that church, for a long time he had extreme anti- 
orthodox views, and did not attend any church. He joined 
the Universalist Church in 1870. At that time he expressed 
himself as having been in sympathy with the religious views 
of Universalists for nearly twenty years, and said he undoubt- 
edly would have become a member had there been a church 
in Akron. Thereafter his interest in the College and in the 
church that had given it birth grew simultaneously, each help- 
ing the other. No one who knew Mr. Buchtel during the 
last five years of his life can forget his remarkable devotion 
to the two institutions; although confined to an invalid's chair, 
he insisted on attending every public exercise in the College, 
and every service in the church of his choice. 

We have spoken of Mr. Buchtel's passion for benevolence. 
Another dominant trait was his liking for young people; and 
out of these two ruling emotions of the man there was born 
what many persons during his later life said was his master 
passion — his passion for education. Without children of his 
own, his love for the sons and daughters of other men and his 
keen interest in their advancement were all the more intense. 
As a boy his own educational advantages had been exceed- 
ingly meager; so meager, indeed, that when he became of age 



34 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

he could hardly write his name. He never ceased to regret 
this lack. But it was this very deficiency, coupled with his 
love for young people, that strengthened his desire for the 
youth of his own and later generations to enjoy the privileges 
he had been denied; and it was just because Buchtel College 
made a splendid challenge to this great desire of his heart that 
he made it the supreme object of his benevolence. It gave him 
the crowning opportunity to do for his city and for his church 
the one thing above all others he longed to do. And, from 
the first, he stood for co-education. He took the broad and 
sane view that, if education means the training and the en- 
riching of the human mind and spirit, then there is every reason 
why the colleges should be open to women as freely as to men. 

To Buchtel College Mr. Buchtel gave almost his entire 
fortune. If judged not merely by the amount of his gifts, but 
by their proportion to all his possessions, he must rank as one 
of the greatest of benefactors. In 1870 he gave $31,000; 
during the next twelve years he gave various sums totalling 
$138,828, and eventually his total gifts to Buchtel College 
amounted to almost half a million dollars. 

But John R. Buchtel gave to the College more than his 
fortune: he gave himself — his time, his anxious thought, his 
"last full measure of devotion." When, on the evening of 
the day of the laying of the cornerstone, he publicly 
said he was so keenly interested in the new project 
that, if necessary, he was willing to sacrifice his life for its 
success, he meant every word, as his unstinted generosity and 
unfailing loyalty from that day forth abundantly proved. In 
cold print, the words may seem today like the shallow boast 
of a vain man ; but the people who heard him that night knew 
them to be a frank and earnest utterance straight from the 
heart. Mr. Buchtel was one of the corporators of Buchtel 
College. He was president of its first Board of Trustees, 
and remained continuously in that office until his death twenty 



THE FOUNDERS 35 

years later. As chairman of the building committee from 
1870 to 1872, he worked with tireless industry. To the very 
last his greatest desire was for the prosperity of the College, 
and he labored unceasingly for its success. 

It is gratifying that Mr. Buchtel lived to see his hopes 
realized. In spite of days of adversity, the College prospered 
abundantly, and Mr. Buchtel watched it become one of the 
best colleges in the state. His interest in it, his devotion to it, 
and his joy in its accomplishments were probably never greater 
than during the last five years of his life. Stricken with 
paralysis, he was compelled to retire from active business, but 
the seeming calamity became a blessing in disguise. Free 
from all business cares, even though an invalid, he could now 
enter into the college life with an intimacy and heartiness im- 
possible before. In his wheel-chair he was a familiar figure 
to faculty and students. It was a common occurrence for 
him to visit chapel, and he was always present at public exer- 
cises, of whatever nature, entering into them with the keenest 
enjoyment. He was receiving his reward. In the affectionate 
gratitude of the boys and girls, in the love of many friends, 
in the high esteem of the entire community, and in his own 
clear consciousness of having done a great thing for the public 
good, he was finding such satisfaction and joy and abiding 
peace as made these closing years the richest of his life. 

We speak of this great and good man as dead. But in 
the deeper sense he is not dead, nor can he ever die. In the 
lives of hundreds of men and women who have been made 
wiser, happier, and better by the education made possible 
for them by his munificence, "his soul goes marching on." His 
living monument is the institution into which he breathed the 
breath of life. John R. Buchtel is immortal in the Buchtel 
College that was, the Akron University that is, and the still 
greater institution that is to be. 



36 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

MRS. BUCHTEL 

Any account of the life and work of John R. Buchtel 
would be inadequate and misleading were no mention made 
of the unfailing encouragement and co-operation he received 
from Mrs. Buchtel. He himself generously admitted, "In 
all my plans and my works of benevolence, she has stood at 

my side and encouraged rather than discouraged them 

In justice I think she should be credited with half the dona- 
tions. She made them possible." 

Mrs. Buchtel came from the same hard-working, thrifty, 
pioneer stock as her husband, and was reared under the same 
pioneer conditions. Her maiden name was Elizabeth David- 
son. She was born in Pennsylvania in August, 1821, and 
when thirteen years of age moved with her parents to a farm 
five or six miles from the then straggling village of Akron, 
Ohio. The second in a large family, she early learned habits 
of industry, self-reliance, and self-sacrifice in helping take 
care of the younger children. Her educational advantages, 
like those of Mr. Buchtel, were very meager. On her mar- 
riage to Mr. Buchtel, they went to housekeeping at once in 
a log cabin, but with her thrifty ways it was not difficult for 
the young wife to make her husband's earnings keep them 
comfortably, and also to lay by something for a rainy day. 
At Mr. Buchtel's funeral J. Park Alexander said: "Do any 
of this generation wonder at this man's success? Go with 
me to his home and fireside, and sit with him, as I have done, 
at his bountiful table presided over by a loving and devoted 
wife. She always did her part. Her 'Good-bye!' of the 
early morning was the inspiration of his day's work, made 
lighter and more joyous by the assured welcome home to 
the evening meal when the day's work was done. Could 
this dead friend speak now, he would caution me to give, in 
my eulogy, not less, but greater praise to her than to him- 
self." Mrs. Buchtel was a model housekeeper — neat, resource 



THEFOUNDERS 37 

ful, economical, hospitable, her home and her husband at all 
times the center of her interest and her endeavor. The com- 
ing of wealth made little difference in this respect; work was 
to her second nature, and no matter how much help she had 
she insisted on supervising the house. During her last years 
it was a great trial to her that physical weakness prevented 
her continuing this supervision of the household affairs. 

Like her husband, Mrs. Buchtel was by nature kind and 
benevolent. Of a singularly sweet disposition, at all times 
gentle in speech and in manner, it was but natural that she 
should be thoughtful of others. In her modest way she was 
continually doing kind and beautiful things that the world 
knew not of. Their home was the center of a most generous 
hospitality, as almost every friend of the College who visited 
Akron in those days can abundantly testify. From the first 
she fully shared Mr. Buchtel's interest in the College; her 
love for it and her devotion to it kept steady pace with his, 
and every generous gift bestowed upon the institution received 
her complete sanction. 

This gentleness and nobleness of her nature were never 
better revealed than during the closing years of Mrs. Buchtel's 
life. In June, 1881, she suffered a slight stroke of paralysis, 
and in the following September another, far more severe, from 
which she never fully recovered. For some time her condition 
was critical, but later became sufficiently improved so that 
she lived on for ten years, although confined to an invalid's 
chair. She bore her affliction with admirable patience, never 
speaking a word of bitterness or even of complaint. 

By a strange fate the husband and wife who had planned 
and worked together so sympathetically were destined to be 
joined in affliction during their last days. It was six years 
after Mrs. Buchtel was stricken that her husband, absent on 
business in the Hocking Valley, telegraphed home that he was 
ill. He himself well knew it was a stroke of paralysis, but he 



38 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

would not send the full truth for fear of the effect it might 
have upon his invalid wife. On reaching home he had to be 
helped into the house. At once Mrs. Buchtel guessed the 
truth. Neither spoke at first; then Mr. Buchtel said quietly, 
"I have come home to stay with you; we'll remain together 
now. You, like John of old, are the forerunner, and I am 
following." For four years they were privileged to "remain 
together" in their affliction. But while it was the sharing of a 
common calamity, it was also the sharing of a common joy — 
joy in each other's companionship, joy in the affectionate min- 
istrations of many friends, especially of the church and the 
College, and joy in planning and working to the very end for 
the college of their love. These were four beautiful years. 
On Friday, May 22, 1891, Mrs. Buchtel died very suddenly. 
Her going had a marked effect upon Mr. Buchtel; hitherto 
cheerful and optimistic, his life was now noticeably saddened. 
He lost his former buoyancy, declined rapidly, and passed 
from earth just a year and a day after Mrs. Buchtel's sudden 
death. 

So passed two of earth's noblest souls. Of obscure origin, 
they nevertheless belonged to the real nobility, and although 
springing from the common folk, they were truly of kingly and 
queenly stuff; for, as Tennyson sings, 

"Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
And simple faith than Norman blood." 

To these two generous spirits every man or woman who 
ever attended Buchtel College owes a large debt of gratitude. 
They were the real founders of our College. Together they 
brought it into being. Together they cherished it and believed 
in it in good and evil report, and together they stood by it 
loyally in its dark days. Without children of their own, to- 
gether they adopted it as the child of their affection, planned 
for it, labored for it, loved it with a great and abiding love, 
and gave it their all. 



THE FOUNDERS 39 

THE founders' ASSOCIATES 

In comparison with the gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel, the 
benefactions of others necessarily appear small. Yet it would 
be an injustice in speaking of the founders of Buchtel College 
to mention only these generous givers. We wish it were pos- 
sible to give due credit here to all who helped in the founding. 
Many gave freely of their means; others both subscribed money 
and contributed unsparingly of time and labor. But the rec- 
ords of those early years are too meager to furnish even the 
names of all who assisted in the work, and it would be futile 
to attempt to record all gifts made and the various services 
rendered by hundreds of persons not only in Akron and 
Summit County, but throughout Ohio and in adjoining states. 

Impossible though it be, however, to give credit to all the 
deserving, there are certain men of those days who stand out 
conspicuous for hard work and devoted service, and who fully 
deserve to share with Mr. Buchtel the credit for founding 
Buchtel College. 

Of the seventeen corporators, special mention should be 
made of the Reverend H. F. Miller, Henry Blandy, the 
Reverend J. S. Cantwell, the Reverend George Messenger, 
the Reverend E. L. Rexford, E. P. Green, N. D. Tibbals, 
Colonel George T. Perkins, the Reverend H. L. Canfield, and 
the Reverend Andrew Willson. In various capacities these 
men worked tirelessly, giving themselves without stint to the 
great task. 

The Reverend H. F. Miller, as financial agent, was chiefly 
instrumental in securing the necessary funds for erecting and 
furnishing the college building. He had a remarkable gift 
for raising money, succeeding where most men would fail. 
Much credit is due Henry Blandy and the Reverend J. S. 
Cantwell ; the former was trustee and a member of the execu- 
tive committee from 1870 to 1873, and was also a member of 



40 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the building committee ; the latter served as trustee from 1 870 
to 1881 and on the executive committee from 1870 to 1872. 

Reference was made in the last chapter to the Reverend 
George Messenger as the man who first succeeded in arousing 
Mr. Buchtel's enthusiasm for the College in Akron. Mr. 
Messenger was trustee until his death in 1872; he was also 
a member of the building committee, and at all times was 
zealously devoted to the interests of the College. No stronger 
evidence is needed of the affection of the Messenger family 
for Buchtel College than the two gifts of Mrs. Messenger: 
$25,000 in 1872 to found the Messenger Professorship in 
memory of her husband, and eight years later $30,000 by be- 
quest to establish a permanent fund. 

Few men, if any, were more active in the days of the be- 
ginnings than was the Reverend E. L. Rexford. As a mem- 
ber of the Committee on Education of the Ohio Universalist 
Convention, as corporator, as trustee from 1870 to 1878, so 
valuable were his services that not only did the institution 
confer upon him the degree of D. D. in 1874, but when, 
several years later. Doctor McCollester resigned the presi- 
dency, the Board of Trustees at once offered Doctor Rexford 
the position. 

Conspicuous for length of service and for unfailing loyalty 
through many years were E. P. Green, Colonel George T. 
Perkins, N. D. Tibbals, the Reverend H. L. Canfield, and 
the Reverend Andrew Willson. All were corporators of 
Buchtel College, and all were on the first Board of Trustees 
except Mr. Willson, who was first elected to the Board in 
1872. E. P. Green, Colonel Perkins, and N. D. Tibbals 
remained on the Board continuously for 25, 27, and 39 years 
respectively, the terms of service of Mr. Green and Mr. Tib- 
bals ending only with death. No institution could have more 
faithful servants than these. 



THE FOUNDERS 41 

Of the work of the Reverend H. L. Canfield and the 
Reverend Andrew^ Willson in securing the College for Akron, 
we spoke in the last chapter. Mr. Canfield gave most faith- 
ful service as trustee from 1 870 to 1 890 and again from 1 900 
to 1 903, and in 1 886 served several months as financial agent. 
Of all the corporators, he and Doctor Rexford are the sole 
survivors. At an advanced age, but in excellent health, he 
makes his home in Los Angeles, where he is a member of the 
famous Centenary Club, membership in which is allowed to 
no person under ninety years of age. 

In length and continuity of service Judge Tibbals was 
equalled only by the Reverend Andrew Willson, who for 
39 years, from 1 872 until his death in 1911, was a valuable 
member of the Board of Trustees. It was Mr. Willson who, 
as chairman of the Committee on Education of the Ohio 
Universalist Convention in 1867, first suggested the establish- 
ing in Ohio of a Universalist school for both sexes, and he 
was intimately identified with all subsequent activities con- 
nected with the founding of the College. In addition, he 
was financial agent from 1875 to 1878, one of the most 
critical periods in the financial history of the institution, and 
was secretary of the Board in 1877-8. Although possessing 
very moderate means, in 1888 he gave the College $10,000. 
In 1910, because of failing health, Mr. Willson offered his 
resignation as trustee; but his colleagues begged him to re- 
main, feeling that his long experience on the Board was so 
valuable that they could not afford to permit him to retire. 
Never has Buchtel College had truer friends than Mr. Canfield 
and Mr. Willson. The College conferred the degree of 
D. D. upon Mr. Canfield in 1888 and upon Mr. Willson in 
1901. Never has it bestowed this degree upon persons more 
worthy. 

Four other men, not corporators, who gave faithful service 
during the period prior to the opening of the College were 



42 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Avery Spicer, General A. C. Voris, S. M. Burnham, and 
George W. Grouse. Mr. Spicer donated the site for the 
building, was member of the building committee, served on 
the Board of Trustees from 1870 until his death in 1881 , and 
during the two years of the founding, 1870-1872, was a 
member of the executive committee of the Board. General 
Voris was a trustee for thirty-five years, from 1870 to 1889 
and from 1 890 to 1 896, serving most acceptably through that 
long period. S. M. Burnham served as secretary of the Board 
from 1870 to 1877 and again in 1878-9, and was trustee in 
1870-1 and from 1879 to 1894. Of the able, loyal, unselfish 
service to the College of George W. Grouse it would be diffi- 
cult to speak too highly; as treasurer from 1870 to 1875, 
as trustee for twenty-six years — from 1 872 to 1 875 and from 
1 899 until his death in 1 9 1 2 — and as president of the Board 
from 1894 to 1904, his service at all times was characterized 
by such wisdom, generosity, and devotion, that in any true 
history of the Gollege his name must be written high on its 
roll of benefactors. 

Buchtel College was exceedingly fortunate in her founders. 
Happily they were men of singular patience, sagacity, self- 
sacrifice, and zeal. Well may we of this later generation, 
looking back over the fifty years of Buchtel's history, and 
justly proud of what she has accomplished, remember with 
reverence and large gratitude these noble spirits of an earlier 
day, and to them ascribe the honor and the praise. 



THE FOUNDERS 43 



FOUNDER'S DAY 

Author unknown Tune: Tenting on the Old Camp Ground 

We are meeting today to honor his name. 

Our Founder brave and true; 
Our grateful hearts will sing his fame. 

And give his love its due. 

Chorus 
Many are the hearts that are happy today. 

Blessing the dear Founder's name; 
Many are the tongues that ever will say, 

"To him be all our fame!" 

We are blessing today all the old, kind friends. 

Who gave their loving gifts; 
The joy be theirs that never ends. 

The peace that knows no rifts. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF PRESIDENTS 
McCOLLESTER AND REXFORD 

1872-8; 1878-80 

THE present chapter deals with the first two administra- 
tions of the College, and more largely with that of 
President McCollester as being the earlier and the 
longer. While a special interest attaches to the beginnings 
of any enterprise whose issues have been notable, the shaping 
of initial policies is of peculiar importance in college building ; 
for better or for worse, the character and quality of the work 
of the coming years — that subtle something which, perhaps 
indefinably, is to differentiate the institution from others of its 
class and to fix the value of its contribution to the sum-total 
of academic life — will often be largely determined by the 
purpose and the personality of its first leader. That initial 
impetus was given, doubtless, in the present instance, by the 
joint effort of several, and it would be impossible — as indeed 
it is unnecessary — to ascribe to the presidents or to any other 
of the co-workers this or that feature of the original policy 
as their special contribution. The burden of responsibility rest- 
ing most heavily, however, on a president's shoulders, it would 
seem but fair that due credit should be accorded him for 
whatever manifest excellences investigation may reveal. It is 
the chief purpose of this chapter to show that the conception 
of the college function, as it found expression in the efforts 
and utterances of the first president, was a worthy conception 
well abreast of the best collegiate thought of its time. If the 
man's reach exceeded his grasp, if performance failed at points 
to equal purpose, the manifest infelicities in the carrying out 



PRESIDENT McCOLLESTERS ADMINISTRATION 45 

of the plan proposed were inseparably connected, doubtless, 
with the difficulties of the situation, and should not in justice 
detract too much from the credit that is the administration's 
due. 

Doctor Sullivan H. McCollester was in his forty-sixth year 
when called to the presidency of Buchtel College, he having 
been born in Marlboro, New Hampshire, December 1 8, 1 826. 
A graduate of Norwich University in the Class of 1 85 1 , he 
studied theology at the Divinity School of Harvard and was 
ordained to the ministry in 1853. He was both educator and 
minister, having been for varying periods principal of Wal- 
pole Academy, Mount Caesar Seminary, Westmoreland 
Valley Seminary, and Westbrook Seminary and Female Col- 
lege. For three years he served as Commissioner of Educa- 
tion for New Hampshire, At the time of his election to the 
Buchtel presidency he was the successful pastor of the Uni- 
versalist Church of Nashua, New Hampshire, and during his 
presidency he organized the Universalist Church of Akron, 
serving for two years as its minister. Extensive foreign travel 
bore fruit in various popular volumes, among them After 
Thoughts of Foreign Travel in Historic Lands and Capital 
Cities, Babylon and Nineveh through American Eyes, Round 
the Globe in Old and New Paths, and Mexico, Old and 
New — a Wonderland. Doctor McCollester also held pas- 
torates, after his retirement from Buchtel, in Bellows Falls, 
Vermont, and Dover, New Hampshire, and was a member 
of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in the ses- 
sion of 1889-90. In 1886 he gave up definite settlement 
and became minister and educator-at-large, making his home 
in his native town of Marlboro, where he continued to reside 
until his recent death. May 22, 1921 . The degree of Doctor 
of Divinity was conferred upon him by St. Lawrence Uni- 
versity in 1873, and the degree of Doctor of Letters by 
Buchtel in 1908. 



46 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

It will be seen from this brief record that the man chosen 
by the trustees to be the first president had had ample training 
in the educational field. The confidence of the Corporation 
found expression in the words of the Honorable Henry 
Blandy, on presenting the keys of the institution: "To me 
was intrusted the responsibility of securing a president, and 
deeply did I feel it. I consulted with our best men, and was 
finally directed to you; and, after meeting you, felt that you 
were worthy of the honor and qualified for the position." 
Nor was Mr. Buchtel's reference, in his installation address, 
to the president's "large experience and knowledge of human 
nature, and high attainments," a tribute undeserved. 

A successful college president must needs be a man of large 
and varied abilities. Confining attention, however, to those 
that find expression in the educational field and embody them- 
selves in academic policy, there are two outstanding, concrete 
tests of the value of his leadership: the curriculum and the 
teaching staff. To have framed a course of study comprehen- 
sive and well-balanced, capable of ministering to each funda- 
mental need, truly practical because not forgetting that man 
cannot live by bread alone — to have framed such a course 
of study and then, with keen insight, to have gathered such a 
teaching staff as should make that course effective, is alone 
sufficient, from the viewpoint of the strictly academic, to secure 
a favorable verdict. And by these two tests the administration 
of President McCollester is deserving of abundant praise. 

Coming first, then, to the character of the curriculum, it is 
evident that the aim of the originators of Buchtel policy was 
high, and the betterment of the courses of study continuous 
and consistent. With this aim and purpose, the trend of 
thought in the president's inaugural address on "The Educa- 
tional Demands of the Nation" gave abundant evidence that 
he was in heartiest sympathy. 



PRESIDENT McCOLLESTER'S ADMINISTRATION 47 

"Our colleges," the address declared, "have not any too much 
breadth and depth of character. It would be a sad mistake for 
us to cut short their curriculum, thinking that the young could 
gain true intellectual honors and religious emolument in some 
other way than by running in the long and beaten track. Were 
this possible, there would be great objection to it; for what 

would be gained in time would be lost in discipline 

The fault to be found with our higher institutions is not as to 
their number but their quality. Some bearing the name of col- 
lege are not even first-class academies. This is due to lowering 
the educational standard, proving that great haste in gaining in- 
tellectual discipline is sure to make waste. Ripe scholarship can 
no more be the outgrowth of these second-rate institutions than 
oaks and elms can be the products of hot-houses. In this age 
we cannot afford to take the downward track. Our best edu- 
cators must feel that, as a rule, a preparation for entering upon 
a collegiate course is demanded. For this lack, much of the 
work which should be done in the high school and academy must 
be wrought out in the college, if done at all. The time is not 
far distant, I hope, when the college outfit will be more thorough 
in the study of language, grammative and lexical, philosophical 
and rhetorical. Then in the college course more finished work 
can be done in modern and ancient grammar, in scientific and 
mathematical explorations, in logic and rhetoric, in aesthetic and 

philosophic learning The Trustees of Buchtel College 

dedicate it to the broad and equal culture of man and woman, 
having adopted a curriculum which savors somewhat of classic 
Greece and Rome, of Pestalozzi and Liebig, of Cuvier and 
Bacon, of foreign and home schools." 

With a leader inspired by such ideals, it is no wonder that, 
as investigation proves, the curriculum of the new college com- 
pared favorably with those in the best of existing institutions. 
This fact is so important, and at the same time so easily lost 
sight of and forgotten, that at the risk of both tediousness and 
duplication the details are here presented. The comparison 
is made between Buchtel and Yale, the latter being chosen 
as a representative institution of the other group; it deals with 
the requisites for admission to the Classical Course, and with 
the studies of the freshman and senior years. The information 
is gleaned from the catalogues of the two institutions for the 
year 1872-3. 



48 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Beginning, then, with the requisites for admission, we find 
them to have been as follows : 

Yale — Latin Grammar, including Prosody; Sallust — Jugur- 
ihine War, or four books of Caesar; Cicero — seven Orations; 
Virgil — the Bucolics, Ceorgics, and first six books of the Aeneid; 
Arnold's Latin Prose Composition, the first twelve chapters. 

Greek Grammar, including Prosody; Xenophon — Anabasis, 
first three books; Greek Reader, or the last four books of the 
Anabasis, or four books of the Iliad. 

Higher Arithmetic; Algebra, to Quadratic Equations; Play- 
fair's Euclid, first two books, or the first, third, and fourth books 
of Davies's Legendre or of Loomis's Elements of Geometry; Eng- 
lish Grammar and Geography, a thorough knowledge. 

Buchtel — Latin Grammar and Prosody, and twelve lessons in 
Prose Composition; Caesar — Commentaries, three books; Virgil 
— Bucolics and six books of the Aeneid; Cicero — four Orations. 

Greek Grammar and Prosody; Xenophon — Anabasis, first 
four books; Homer — Iliad, first three books or their equivalent. 

Arithmetic; Algebra, to equations of the second degree; Eng- 
lish Grammar; History of the United States; Modern and An- 
cient Geography. 

A comparison of these two sets of admission requirements 
will show that an unconditioned freshman at Buchtel in 1872 
entered upon his college work with practically the same degree 
of preparation as an unconditioned freshman at Yale. 

Coming now to the studies of the freshman year, the work 
required is found to be interestingly similar as regards both 
quantity and quality, with slight divergences of stress, as 
would be of course inevitable. Expressed, then, in terms of 
study, the freshman curricula are as follows : 

Yale — Livy, two terms; Horace, one term; Latin Composi- 
tion, two terms; Odyssey, two terms; Herodotus, two terms; 
Greek Composition, two terms; Geometry and Algebra, three 
terms; Roman History, one term; French, one term; Rhetoric 
and Composition, one term. 

Buchtel — Livy, two terms; Horace, one term; Latin Compo- 
sition and Prosody, three terms; Xenophon, one term; Odyssey, 
one term ; Herodotus, one term ; Greek Composition and Prosody, 
two terms; Algebra, two terms; Physiology, one term; Compo- 
sition and Declamation, three terms. 



PRESIDENT McCOLLESTER'S ADMINISTRATION 49 

In the senior year the following studies were pursued: 

Yale — Mental Philosophy, one term; Moral Philosophy, one 
term; Evidences of Christianity, one term; Political Economy, 
one term; History and Political Philosophy (Roman Law, Con- 
stitution of the United States, Hallam, Guizot, Woolsey, De 
Tocqueville) , three terms; Latin, one term; German, one term; 
Rhetoric, two terms; Astronomy (continued), one term; Geology, 
one term; Lectures in Anatomy and Physiology, in Chemistry, in 
Botany, in Language and the Study of Language, one term each. 

Buchtel — Intellectual Philosophy, one term ; Moral Philosophy, 
one term; Butler's Analogy, one term; History of Civilization, 
one term; Political Economy, one term; Logic, one term; Astron- 
omy, one term ; English Literature, one term ; Greek Testament, 
one term; German or French, two terms; Themes and Vocal 
Culture, three terms. 

The advantage here, as regards variety, is manifestly on 
the side of Yale. It should be remembered, though, that the 
Yale faculty of fifty years ago was rich in scholars such as 
Porter, Woolsey, Whitney, and Dana, authorities in their 
respective fields and teaching from the textbooks they had 
themselves prepared. A senior program, therefore, could be 
made exceptionally rich and stimulating, especially in lectures, 
by virtue of such advantage. On this account a fairer com- 
parison can be made with a smaller New England institution 
of the best type. At Middlebury College in 1 872 the studies 
of the senior year were: 

Intellectual Philosophy, two terms; Moral Science, one term; 
Natural Theology, one term; Butler's Analogy, one term; His- 
tory of Civilization, one term; History of Grecian Philosophy, 
one term ; Logic, one term ; Political Economy, one term ; Inter- 
national Law, one term; Geology, two terms; Principles of 
Zoology, one term; Forensic Discussions, one term; Review of 
the Studies of the Year, one term. 

In scope and general outline, it will be seen that there was 
comparatively little difference between the senior studies of 
Middlebury and of Buchtel, and the same may confidently 
be said as regards the entire Classical curriculum of the new 
college and the corresponding curricula of the first-class in- 
stitutions into whose ranks it sought admission. 



50 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

It is one thing, however, to know what 'twere good to do, 
and quite another thing to do it. The task that lay before 
the first administration was arduous and two-fold: to create 
a student constituency, and to adjust the courses of study to 
the varied proficiency of its members. However clear-sighted 
and ambitious the framers of the first curriculum may have 
been, compromise at the outset was a practical necessity. We 
find, accordingly, a two-year Philosophical Course, requiring 
for admission English Grammar, United States History, 
Geography, Arithmetic, Algebra through eight sections, and 
four books of Geometry. It called for two years of German 
or French, and stressed Mathematics and Natural Science, the 
former including Surveying, Plane and Spherical Geometry, 
Analytics, Calculus, and Mechanics, and the latter Chemistry, 
Natural Philosophy, Botany, Zoology, Geology, Mineralogy, 
and Astronomy. These, with Rhetoric, History, Political 
Economy, Intellectual Philosophy, and Moral Science, would 
seem to have made up a fairly solid two years' work, yet the 
temporary nature of the course in its initial stage is clearly 
evident. A year later it had been lengthened to three years, 
and in the catalog of 1875-6 it appeared as a full-fledged 
four-year course, which in 1878-9 had come to include four 
terms of required Latin, with a corresponding requirement for 
admission. 

Similarly, the catalog of 1873-4 recorded a three-year 
Scientific Course, with Latin elective from the beginning, 
though the entrance requirements in it were the same as for 
the Classical Course. Mathematics was required through 
Analytics, and there was an abundance of natural science and 
modern language. It was, indeed, the beginning of such a 
course as has since been largely introduced, in response to 
present-day demands, into even classical strongholds. In 
1875-6, this Scientific Course was also lengthened to four 
years. In what seems to have been an experimental fashion, 



PRESIDENT McCOLLESTERS ADMINISTRATION 51 

Latin was at times included in its required studies and at times 
omitted from them, but in 1878-9 it had become the non- 
Latin course of the curriculum, and so continued throughout 
the period covered by this chapter. 

It is to be noted, therefore, from what has been here pre- 
sented, that in the fourth year from the beginning a regular 
and complete curriculum had been set in operation. Some of 
the early irregularities, however, continued longer. The fol- 
lowing newspaper extract, appearing near the close of the first 
year of the administration of President Rexford, is illuminating 
both as proof that a temporary expedient, once adopted, can 
cling tenaciously to life, and as indication of the effort put 
forth, unremittingly and despite opposition, in the direction 
of higher standards. It was written to correct a published 
statement that the Literary Course of the College had been 
lengthened from three to four years, by dropping some of 
the literary studies and substituting several mathematical re- 
quirements, and read as follows : 

"The Literary Course, heretofore in existence in Buchtel Col- 
lege altogether against the better judgment of many members of 
the Faculty, has been entirely stricken from the curriculum. . . . 
There is, then, no longer a Literary Course in Buchtel College, 
much to the gratification of all friends of real and solid college 
education. The courses which will be published in the forth- 
coming catalog are: Classical, Philosophical, and Scientific; 
these are all four-year courses, with sixteen and seventeen hours 

a week In this connection we desire to point to the 

golden fruit already gathered from the one year under the new 
administration. Doctor Rexford's great ability and thorough 
knowledge of college work, in connection with the large experi- 
ence of faithful and competent professors, have cleared the ground 
of a great deal of rubbish accumulated in former years." 

Without in the least disparaging the accomplishment of 
President Rexford, it is only fair to remember on the basis 
of the record, that much of that rubbish had already been 
cleared away when his administration began. The well-de- 
served recognition, moreover, of "the large experience of 



52 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

faithful and competent professors" should not be passed with- 
out notice. In the very nature of the case, a faculty plays an 
important part in the framing of curriculum policy, and doubt- 
less, from the very first the praiseworthy development here 
outlined was largely due to the efforts of the teacbing staff 
that President McCollester gathered about him — which brings 
us to the second test of a president's worth, his skill in the 
selection of instructors. 

It could not have been chance alone that brought together, 
during the six years of President McCollester's leadership, 
such a group of men as Nehemiah White, Alfred Welsh, 
Carl F. Kolbe, Elias Fraunfelter, Charles M. Knight, and 
Isaac B. Choate. The part that was played by some of 
these in the history of the College need not be recounted here ; 
elsewhere in this volume it is fittingly narrated in detail. The 
present writer, however, would pay personal tribute to three 
among the number. The catalog of 1875-6 is the first to 
have in sequence on its faculty list the names of Professors 
Kolbe, Fraunfelter, and Knight. These men would have 
given distinction to the teaching force of any college of their 
time. In personality no men could have differed more, yet 
they had in common certain blended characteristics that gave 
to their work as teachers both dignity and power; courtesy, 
thoroughness, and an enthusiasm they were able to impart. 
Those were indeed favored who sat under their instruction. 
One such gives grateful testimony to the lifelong debt he owes 
them in his own teaching; each in an individual way has been 
for him through all the years a pattern and an inspiration. 
From the list of those, moreover, whose helpful influence had 
but just begun when under graduate days were over, the name 
of Professor Choate should by no means be omitted. Though 
of a diffident, retiring nature, that was not conducive, perhaps, 
to complete success in the collegiate field, his quiet love of 
beauty was nevertheless contagious, and the classics, as he 



PRESIDENT McCOLLESTER'S ADMINISTRATION 53 

taught them, were something more than a training ground for 
syntax. To have taken Xenophon's Memorabilia and made 
it for a careless boy the most dehghtful memory of his college 
years is in itself a pedagogical triumph. 

Mingled, however, with these manifest excellences were 
certain equally manifest defects. The intimate connection of 
a preparatory department could hardly fail to lower collegiate 
standards, especially when both preparatory and collegiate 
students pursued their studies and lived their life under the 
roof of one great building. The initial necessity, too, of bring- 
ing together in the same classes students with widely varying 
degrees of preparation was bound to affect unfavorably the 
quality of the collegiate instruction given. Gresham's law in 
economics has its counterpart in education; the worst form of 
currency in circulation regulates the value of the whole cur- 
rency. The early absence of careful classification is clearly 
shown in this interesting bit of testimony: "I recall the fact 
that the first year, while a member of the preparatory school, 
I recited in one class with the Seniors." A situation such as 
that is almost certain to be hard upon the seniors, and a handi- 
cap to the full effectiveness of even the best of teaching. 
When it is noted, moreover, that of nearly three hundred 
students enrolled during the first year eighty-four per cent 
were either preparatory or irregular, and that through all the 
six years of the first administration the collegiate students aver- 
aged only thirty per cent of the entire student body, it will 
be seen at once that the maintaining of a high collegiate stand- 
ard could have been by no means easy. There were brilliant 
students from the first — students who would have responded, 
under conditions however unfavorable, to the splendid stimulus 
afforded by certain of their instructors — but for the rank and 
file, contented always with mediocrity, the more persuasive 
invitation, under the circumstances here outlined, was doubt- 
less toward the lower levels of achievement. 



54 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Another infelicity, if a looker-on in Venice may venture 
to hazard a judgment, was the closeness of relation between 
the College and the newly-established church. The prob- 
lems of administration, many and perplexing at the best of 
times, are peculiarly difficult in a college's early years. It is a 
policy of doubtful wisdom, therefore, and especially in the 
case of a denominational institution, to assign to the same 
person, however well qualified, the functions of both president 
of the college and pastor of the local church, for it is almost 
certain that friction in the affairs of either body will affect 
unfavorably the interests of the other. Without indulging in 
profitless detail, it seems safe to say that often in the years 
that are here considered the results would have been more 
happy, from the standpoint of academic effectiveness, had the 
burdens of the local pastorate been laid from the first on other 
than the president's shoulders. It is altogether likely, more- 
over, that the heartiest approval of this belief would be that 
of the two incumbents upon whom, for a portion of the time, 
the double burden was imposed. 

These, then, imperfectly stated, are some of the salient 
features of the first administration. Its imperfections are easily 
discovered; the difficulties it had to face are as easily over- 
looked. Its record, though, impartially considered, will justify 
the wisdom of the trustees' choice, and the confidence that 
they expressed on the day of the president's inauguration. 
A recent estimate by Professor George A. Peckham may 
appropriately be joined with theirs, as a judgment after the 
fact. "In President McCollester," says Professor Peckham, 
"Buchtel had a representative before the public that would do 
credit to any college. This is not," he adds, "the immature 
judgment of youth, but my sober estimate after forty years 
of teaching." In matters like these, the testimony of teachers 
is peculiarly competent, and the administration of President 



PRESIDENT REXFORD'S ADMINISTRATION 55 

McCollester may rest its case with this verdict of a hfelong 
educator. 

At the close of the college year of 1877-8, Doctor Everett 
L. Rexford succeeded to the presidency. He was in his 
thirty-seventh year, having been born in Harmony, New^ York, 
April 24, 1842, the son of a Baptist minister. After his 
graduation from St. Law^rence University in 1865, he entered 
the Universalist ministry, with pastorates in Cincinnati, Co- 
lumbus, and San Francisco. From the last of these, after a 
service of nearly four years, he was called to the leadership at 
Buchtel, at the same time becoming pastor of the local church. 
Through his previous Ohio residence, his connection with the 
beginnings of the College had been a close one. He was a 
member of the Committee on Education of the Ohio Uni- 
versalist Convention in 1869 and 1870, one of the incorpora- 
tors of the College, and a member of the Board of Trustees 
from the first. In 1 873 he had delivered the Commencement 
address. It was no stranger, therefore, but one thoroughly 
familiar with the institution, its history, its policy, and its needs, 
whom the trustees called to be its second head. After a serv- 
ice of two years. Doctor Rexford resigned to accept the pas- 
torate of the newly-established Universalist church in Detroit. 
His present home is in Columbus, Ohio, where he has been 
for some years in charge of an independent congregation. 

Doctor Rexford was in the prime of his power during the 
years of his presidency ; a man of handsome physical presence 
and strong personality. With positive convictions and excep- 
tional dialectic skill, controversy was the very breath of his 
nostrils. Like the ocean petrels, he seemed at times to hover 
by choice above the stormiest waters, and it behooved an 
opponent to be well equipped who encountered him in de- 
bate. The writer well remembers how the president would 
take advantage of an hour devoted to a classroom test — as- 
signed, perhaps, for the purpose — to make a contribution to 



56 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

some current controversy; with what mingled admiration and 
envy he watched the manuscript multiply, sheet after sheet, 
with never an erasure or a moment's hesitation for a word, in 
sad contrast with his own laborious efforts as he struggled with 
the test; and how the wonder grew greater when he read in 
the evening paper the finished, forceful English he had seen 
so rapidly written. 

The administration of President Rexford, though short, 
was by no means unimportant. It was given largely to the 
stabilizing of features that had already proved their worth, 
and to the eliminating of those whose continuance was no 
longer justified. With no specific training of his own in the 
academic field. Doctor Rexford had the wisdom, in matters 
of college policy, to avail himself freely of the expert judg- 
ment of his faculty. The assistance that they rendered he 
has most generously acknowledged, praising later, in a letter 
of reminiscence, the loyalty of the faculty as a body, and 
making grateful mention of the "faithful and enthusiastic de- 
votion" of Professors Kolbe and Fraunfelter to the uncom- 
pleted task of curriculum reconstruction. "Our work went 
forward," the letter states, "with excellent unity of spirit. Few 
changes were made in the former policy except that the presi- 
dent, instead of exercising a sort of personal and minute over- 
sight of the different departments, insisted that each professor 
should be held responsible for the work in his own field, but 
might seek advice in the faculty meetings. I was too busy 
with my work as a preacher to look patiently into the details 
of college work." 

The last sentence is significant, as explaining the briefness 
of the president's incumbency. From his very nature. Doctor 
Rexford must soon have found the pulpit more attractive than 
the presidential chair; he mentions, in written utterances of 
the spring of 1880, the difficulty of performing in a satisfac- 
tory way the duties of both positions, and pronounces for the 



PRESIDENT REXFORD'S ADMINISTRATION 57 

pulpit as affording him, in his opinion, the more fruitful field. 
At the end, therefore, of his second year of service, a church 
edifice having been completed and Doctor Cone, his old 
teacher at St. Lawrence, having expressed a willingness to 
assume the presidency, he resigned at the Commencement of 
1 880 and accepted the pastorate at Detroit. 

It is as a preacher and not as a college administrator that 
Doctor Rexford's real measure must be taken; the Buchtel 
years were but an episode. He came, however, to certain tasks 
that greatly needed doing — differences to be adjusted, fac- 
tional feelings to be allayed. That he brought harmony out 
of discord in the relations of the church and college, though 
himself, as has been stated, a veritable "son of thunder," and 
by wise co-operation with his colleagues, though himself im- 
patient of academic detail, delivered to his successor a cur- 
riculum even stronger than the one he had received, will give 
to his administration, in Buchtel annals, a secure and honored 
place. 




CHAPTER IV 

REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY YEARS 

I 

the first year 

(being random recollections of a member 
of the class of 1873) 

EPTEMBER 11, 1872, witnessed the culmination of 
untiring efforts and prayers of the Universalists of Ohio 
for a higher institution of learning located in their 
midst. On that day many young men and women who had 
been anxiously awaiting that eventful time, saw the realization 
of their fondest hopes, the opening of Buchtel College. For 
days the campus and building had been the scene of great 
activity in order that everything might be in readiness for the 
reception of students. Much remained to be completed, but 
the opening took place on schedule time. 

The first exercises were held in the Assembly Room on 
the first floor, which was well filled with anxious boys and girls 
from many sections of the country. The faculty sat in line 
across the front of the room and with them the proudest man 
on all this earth, the beloved founder of the College, John R. 
Buchtel. 

President McCollester introduced the exercises by the read- 
ing of scripture and prayer. He then extended the kindest of 
greetings to all, outlined briefly the immediate duties of each 
in regard to registration, deportment, classrooms, etc., intro- 
duced the various members of the faculty, apologized for the 
unfinished condition of the building and the consequent incon- 
venience which must be endured for a time, then dismissed 
his hearers. Buchtel College had begun. All left chapel exer- 



THEFIRSTYEAR 59 

cises that first morning with the feehng that their Hves had 
fallen in pleasant places, that they had made no mistake in 
coming to this newest of colleges, and that with proper efFort 
their desire for education would be realized. 

No greater task ever faced a college president than that 
which devolved upon our worthy head on that memorable oc- 
casion and for subsequent weeks. The students assembled 
were from many states, a large number came from unclassified 
schools, and many had no definite idea of what they wanted 
to do. Teachers were few and much of the burden of classi- 
fication fell upon the president. Classrooms were unfinished; 
hence it became necessary for pupils to locate their professor 
in some classroom and thus learn their recitation home for the 
day. It might be elsewhere on the succeeding one. Many 
students came for the prime purpose of studying music, there 
being sixty-three enrolled in that department the first year. 
Nearly all music pupils, however, took one or more other 
branches. Under existing chaotic conditions it was impossible 
to classify all along rigid class-lines; so many were classed 
as irregular, there being eighty-three thus designated in the 
catalog for the first year. 

The course of study was far inferior to that of today, for 
it was made to fit the beginnings of things. There was a 
great lack of apparatus and equipment of all kinds, because 
of a scarcity of money and because things had not been tried 
out. The year was divided into three divisions, instead of 
two, and as each pupil was assigned four branches for each 
day, with long lessons, many branches were completed in one 
year. 

President McCollester was not president of the institution 
merely in the generally accepted interpretation of the term. 
He was a personal friend to every student and tried to look 
after the interests of out-of-town students who were in his 
charge as carefully as their parents would do. In case of sick- 



60 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ness, he was at the student's bedside, doing everything possible 
for his comfort. It was nothing unusual for President McCol- 
lester to leave his home at night to take the part of nurse for 
some sick student. He was generous to a fault, and bestowed 
many favors upon needy pupils, who never learned the source 
of the kindness. In all such work President McCollester re- 
ceived the hearty support of his excellent wife. 

Chapel exercises were held each morning in the Assembly 
Room, and the attendance of all students was required. There 
were no benches at first, chairs having to serve the double pur- 
pose of use on the first floor on week days and the fifth on 
Sundays; so pupils were expected to assist in the labor of 
carrying them back and forth. In case of an entertainment, 
the chair brigade responded willingly to a call for service. 

There was no electric bell to call classes to recitations, but 
there was a large bell in the east tower, the gift of employees 
of the Buckeye Works, now the International Harvester Com- 
pany. This bell called to chapel exercises, announced evening 
study hour, when all dormitory pupils were supposed to be in 
their rooms, and at 9:30 p. m. served as a curfew. On one 
or two occasions some bad boys carried out a plot that "cur- 
few shall not ring tonight." 

The building was planned to afford "ample and suitable 
conveniences for boarding one hundred and fifty students." 
Those who roomed in the building had a place to study; day 
pupils had to look out for themselves. A few were so fortu- 
nate as to secure rooms which had not been engaged by 
boarders. Board and room, including lights, washing, and 
heating of room, was five dollars per Week. Many students 
who had rooms with private families boarded at the College. 
In order to reduce expenses, many formed clubs and reduced 
the cost of meals to a minimum. Of course, many complained 
of the food served, but that is always to be expected. It was 
probably as good as most complainants had at home. 



THE FIRST YEAR 61 

In those days there was no such thing known as garbage 
collection. But, as a matter of course, where there were so 
many boarders there was much waste, and what to do with it 
was a serious problem. Finally someone conceived the bril- 
liant idea of a garbage disposal plant in the form of pigs, not 
two-legged ones, but bona fide four-legged pigs. These were 
kept at some distance from the building, on land owned by 
the College, where the athletic field now is. Boys in those 
days were as full of pranks as those of the present, ever ready 
to distinguish themselves in some novel enterprise, so they de- 
termined to make the first Hallowe'en at Buchtel a red-letter 
day in more senses than one. Accordingly, they procured a 
pot of red paint, and deliberately and with malice aforethought 
colored those poor porkers a brilliant red. 

It may be of interest to compare college expenses in 1872 
with those of today. At that time, for college courses, the 
tuition was thirty dollars per year, and in the preparatory de- 
partment, eight dollars for each of the three terms. Room 
rent in the dormitories was ten dollars per year, and in 1873-4 
it was reduced to nine dollars. For preparatory students it 
was three dollars per term. 

The catalog for 1872-3 says, "By the liberal donation of 
General L. V. Bierce of Akron and other friends of the Col- 
lege an elegant and spacious room has been fitted up for a 
library. It has already been furnished with many volumes of 
valuable books. It has space for more. " In connection with 
this statement the following extract from Chapter VIII of the 
LaiVs and Regulations is interesting and enlightening, "The 
Library shall be open to students in term-time at least one day 
of every week at such hours as may from time to time be 
appointed." 

It will thus be seen that the library of those days was more 
for ornament than for use. The "many volumes of valuable 
books" were not placed in position for a considerable time; 



62 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

things were in such an unfinished state, and there was so much 
else to be done, that Httle attention could be given to the 
library. The "elegant and spacious room," located on the 
third floor, was known to students as the Bierce Library chiefly 
because they could read the marker over the door. It should 
be said, however, that on the first floor were two reading 
rooms furnished with racks containing the daily papers and a 
few periodicals, and that these were used freely at specified 
hours. But no better evidence of Buchtel's growth can be 
furnished than the contrast between that primitive library, open 
once a week, and the fine library building which, thanks to the 
generosity of Mr. Frank Mason and Mr. Frank A. Seiber- 
ling, adorns the campus today — a building beautiful to look 
upon, well stocked with useful books, and open every week 
day for the use of Akron citizens as well as the students and 
faculty of the University. 

Very primitive, too, at first, were the facilities for labora- 
tory work. The first three catalogs of Buchtel College con- 
tain the following brief announcement: "The college owns 
a good Philosophical and Chemical Apparatus of the latest 
and most approved kind, A valuable cabinet of minerals is 
being furnished the college." The laboratory which housed 
this apparatus was situated on the first floor, and consisted of 
two rooms. One was a spacious room furnished with seats 
for classes, and containing a large counter at one end on which 
the professor placed his apparatus and performed his experi- 
ments. The students were merely lookers-on. A small room 
in the rear contained the chemicals needed and apparatus not 
in use. 

The catalog for 1875-6 contains the same stock announce- 
ment with one sentence inserted. That sentence is significant: 
"It has a Laboratory, open to students, well furnished with 
apparatus for making chemical experiments and analyses." 
The reason for the change is due to the fact that the year 1 875 



THEFIRSTYEAR 63 

marked the coming of Professor Charles M. Knight. Pro- 
fessor Knight, assisted by Professor Mayo, at once made a 
change in both the character and the location of experimental 
work. The two cleared out a room in the basement, fitted it 
up with working sinks, and requisitioned a number of wash 
bowls for use in experiments, put in some additional gas-pipes, 
water-pipes, and faucets, and the result was a laboratory for 
students' use. 

Let it not be supposed that the students of those days had 
an easy time because of the lack of library and laboratory 
equipment and the general newness of things. Almost all 
recitations were held five times a week, the professors assigned 
long lessons, and the textbooks used were far from elementary. 
Let a student of the University of Akron today procure a 
copy of Butler's Analogy; let his professor require him to 
prepare a lesson therefrom as long as was assigned in those 
days, and — see him wince! When he has learned that, let 
him prepare a lesson from Guizot's History of Civilization to 
be recited as Miss Spalding required. After having an op- 
portunity to rest his brain, let him prepare a lesson in Latin or 
Greek for Professor White, one of the most learned and 
exacting professors the College ever knew, or a lesson in Ger- 
man for Professor Carl F. Kolbe, another of similar type. 
Any student who handed in a German manuscript carelessly 
written, or who attempted camouflage in an oral recitation, 
soon felt himself dwindling almost to nothingness. The les- 
sons in mathematics assigned by Professor Fraunfelter — who 
came somewhat later — often required not less than four or 
five hours for preparation. 

Two members of the first year's class selected Dana's Min- 
eralogy as one of their studies. For practical work they were 
shown a pile of stones on the third floor, in a room intended 
for a museum, but not fitted up because of lack of equipment, 
time, and labor, and were given hammers, blow-pipes, acids, 



64 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

files, etc., and told to go to work. While they were engaged 
in solving the mystery of what lay before them and preparing 
a report on the data secured, the professor went about his 
duties elsewhere. 

All students of the early days were given a pamphlet, upon 
entering, entitled ^LaiOs and Regulations of Buchtel College. 
There were eleven chapters, filling eight closely-printed pages. 
Nothing was overlooked or omitted that could possibly afFect 
a student's demeanor. Students who were inclined to regard 
these Rules as "a mere scrap of paper" changed their minds 
very quickly if they tried to evade any of the provisions. In 
these later days of student self-government, when students are 
left so much to their own honor, these old Buchtel restrictions 
must seem like relics of the Blue Laws of Connecticut. How- 
ever, then, as now, laws were not irksome to those who tried 
to do right, and mistakes were overlooked or pardoned when- 
ever the right spirit was shown. 

A glance at the LavOs and Regulations will make cleai 
that the discipline of the College was rigid. All pupils were 
required to attend church on Sunday, but were privileged to 
select their church home. Failure to attend received due pun- 
ishment. It was a serious offense to be seen walking with one 
of the opposite sex without permission. Shades of Buchtel! 
Was life really worth living then? The girls' dormitories 
were on the west side of the building, the boys' on the east, 
and the division doors were kept securely locked after the 
ringing of the curfew. Those doors had key-holes. Were 
tender messages ever carried through them? Some said so. 
Doors cannot swing if too tightly fitted, but usually there is 
space enough underneath for an envelope to pass. Was it 
ever utilized? Many think it was. 

^(Editor's Note: These Laws and Regulations are reprinted in the Appendix to 
this History, where they may be read and studied in detail.) 



EARLY DAYS 65 

Dances were held every Saturday evening in the dining- 
room. They were largely attended by students and invited 
guests, but were required to close at an early hour. Both 
square and round dances were on the program, but in the latter, 
each person waltzed with one of his own sex, no gentleman 
ever daring to embrace his beloved, even for a brief instant. 

After supper each night boys and girls had a social hour 
in the lower halls until the study-bell rang, and it is needless 
to say these were greatly enjoyed. 

Gentlemen were allowed to call upon their individual lady 
friends on Friday evening, if they were fortunate enough to 
secure permission and the use of the reception room or a music 
room; but the doors were kept open, of course. Was it not 
strange that dormitory girls thought the water at the drinking 
fountain on the first floor far better than the water on their 
own floor, and that they would deliberately walk past those 
open doors and sometimes glance that way? 

II 

early days 
(being reminiscences of a member of the class of 

1876, AS THEY APPEARED IN The Buchtelite FOR 
OCTOBER, 1889) 

As to the beginnings of my recollections of Buchtel College, 
they date back to as early a time as those of Mrs. Cole. That 
is to say, they antedate the College. I, too, very well remem- 
ber the old graveyard, remember one Sunday afternoon play- 
ing with other little girls in among the graves on the old hill, 
long before it had entered anybody's head to change the quiet 
resting place of the dead into as lively and active a spot as a 
college campus. Imagine for a moment if you can what the 
departed shades of those venerable old grandsires and gran- 
dames would think if they could gather on the campus around 
the group of students who belong to the "Buchtel College Ath- 



66 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

letic Association" on the night when that dignified body has 
its first meeting. Imagine them wagging their venerable heads 
in despair over the degeneracy of the present age. Imagine 
them saying one to another, "O, Temporal O, Mores! what 
new kind of mental discipline might this of our descendants 
be"! If spirits ever do come back to haunt the scenes where 
they were laid to rest, what could we imagine that would be 
more likely to call them forth than the pandemonium that 
reigns on Buchtel campus on that night, in our own time? 

I, too, remember watching the great procession on the day 
when the cornerstone of Buchtel College was laid — remember 
looking with a feeling of profound veneration upon the silvered 
head of Horace Greeley as the carriage bore him up College 
Street. I watched the procession from the roof of a porch, 
and have no doubt I shouted and clapped my hands as enthu- 
siastically as the rest when the venerable old gentleman passed 
by, bowing and smiling to the people. 

I, too, came as a student into the first chapel exercise that 
was ever held in Buchtel College. Day students in those days 
were allowed to rent rooms for study, and I remember coming 
to choose a room before the shavings were swept up or any 
furniture had been moved in. Those first days and weeks 
were chaotic indeed, in more respects than one. 

There was one novel feature of the early chapel exercises 
at Buchtel which I have no doubt the students of the first year 
will remember. It was the manner of making out the schedule 
of classes for the term. In those days when there was an 
almost total lack of classification, it was the custom of the 
assembled body, faculty and students, to act in concert in 
making out, or at least in revising, the schedule. I cannot say 
that I was so favorably impressed with the results of this 
method as to advise my co-workers in the faculty of today, 
when perplexed over what seem insurmountable schedule diffi- 
culties, to return to the old system with any hope of simplifying 



EARLY DAYS 67 

matters. The president asked what students wished to pursue 
a certain study, and then, having taken down their names, tried 
various hours until a time was found when all could recite. 
To still further complicate matters, the textbooks for that study 
were distributed then and there. 

The chapel exercises were in those days considerably longer 
than today, but as I remember them, the additional time was 
not occupied in the devotional exercises, but in general exhor- 
tation and admonition, and sometimes when occasion de- 
manded, admonition which could hardly be called general. 
Occasion seemed to demand that kind of missionary effort 
from the officer in charge much oftener then than in our day. 

The old student, upon coming back to Buchtel, observes 
many changes. For one thing, he is in a constant state of 
wonder over the social privileges allowed the student of today, 
and is continually contrasting the happy freedom of the present 
with what he chooses to consider the bondage of the earlier 
time. I have recently read, with a great deal of interest and 
amusement, a copy of the laws and regulations of that first 
year of college history. I can imagine the electric shock that 
would be experienced if those rules should be reprinted and 
passed around to our students some morning in chapel as em- 
bodying the present system of government. 

I will make a few quotations from these first rules of Buchtel 
College, remarking in passing that there were eleven chapters 
in all, making a pamphlet of eight pages, close print. 

Chapter IV., Rule II, reads as follows: "Absence without 
permission from prayers once, receives two demerits; from church 
once, four demerits; from a college lecture, three demerits; from 
a recitation, two demerits; absence from the College Building 
during the hours of recitations, without permission from the Pres- 
ident or some members of the Faculty in charge, or passing be- 
yond College Hmits at any time without hberty, will subject a 
student to private admonition, or discipHne before the Faculty." 

Chapter X., Rule 13, reads as follows: "At all public exer- 
cises given in the College Chapel, the young men will occupy the 
east side, and the young women the west side." I imagine that 



68 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Rule 1 6 of the same chapter would, if enforced today, be dis- 
astrous in its effect upon the boarding department. It reads: 
"Students boarding in the College will receive one demerit if 
five minutes late at a meal, or for any disorder in the dining- 
room, or for tarrying in it after meals, or for any misconduct in 
coming to or going from it." 

The final result of all these demerits is given in Rule 1 7 : 
"Students having received five demerits, will be privately ad- 
monished; having received ten, they will be publicly admonished; 
I having received fifteen in the same term, they will be subject to 
suspension or expulsion." 

Such a thing as a daily social to which all gentlemen and 
ladies are invited was unknown and undreamed of in those 
days, and would have been considered subversive of all law 
and order. Observe the propriety enforced even in the seating 
in chapel and at public entertainments as quoted above from 
Chapter X, Rule 13. Buchtel College seems originally to 
have believed that the old Puritan meeting-house arrangement 
of the sexes was the only safe plan. When we consider the 
constant fears and fancies that seem to have troubled the offi- 
cers of the institution during those early years with reference 
to the relations of young men and young women, we question 
whether their assent to the doctrine of co-education was a 
very hearty one, and whether there was not a good deal of 
mental reservation upon the whole subject. The fact that 
greater freedom is allowed today is, we believe, an indication 
of growth toward the broader spirit which should animate a 
college in distinction from a "Young Ladies' Seminary" or a 
boarding school. 

We see many indications of the academy idea in the earlier 
years. The original structure of the college building itself 
shows the predominance of the boarding-school rather than 
the college idea. The discipline of those early years was 
obviously fashioned upon the academy plan. 

There were one or two other novel features of those early 
days which may be interesting to the student of a later time. 
One was the great day of public examination. 



EARLYDAYS 69 

The good old way of conducting examinations is indicated 
by another extract from the Laws and Regulations, as follows: 

"There shall be an examination of the classes at the close of 
each term. These examinations shall be conducted in the pres- 
ence of as many of the Trustees as can attend, and of a com- 
mittee at large designated by the Faculty. This committee shall 
be requested to mark by numbers their estimate of the standing 
of each student. The committee shall be requested to prepare 
a report for the Trustees giving their views of the examinations, 
the rank of the students, and the merit or demerit of the 
instruction." 

Not only were trustees and visiting committee invited, but 
the general public, the people of the city and surrounding 
country. "But did they come?" you of a later date will ask 
with incredulity. Indeed they did come, and gladly. It was 
an occasion for the display of a sort of mental gymnastics. 
Before the assembled audience the student was bidden to 
stand and set forth his ideas upon some weighty problem of 
moral or mental science — or to go to the blackboard and 
demonstrate a proposition in geometry, or deduce some mathe- 
matical formula. It was a terrible ordeal for the green or 
bashful student. It is to be hoped that the public enjoyed it. 
Somebody ought to have done so, and I am sure the students 
did not. 

Gradually the oral examination was supplanted by the final 
written examination, and it of late years has given place to 
what we believe to be the more rational system of the test 
and daily grade. I distinctly remember one of my first written 
examinations. We were left entirely to ourselves with the 
questions on the board in front of us. Our textbooks were 
piled up on the platform; we were put upon our honor. I 
hope that the experiment of trusting to the honor of students 
has as a general rule a better result than it had upon this par- 
ticular occasion. One or two members of the class, out of 
pure love of mischief I am sure, after having written an answer 
to a question would say, reading it aloud: "Seems to me 



70 FIFTYYEARSOFBUCHTEL 

that doesn't sound just right;" then, turning to the next neigh- 
bor, "Is that the way you have it?" 

Whereupon the two would compare notes, and finally de- 
cide that we might as well be exact since the original source 
of our knowledge was within easy reach; and so, stepping to 
the platform, one or the other would pick up a textbook and 
read the passage verbatim. Not being deaf, the rest of us 
could hardly fail to refresh our memory by the passage thus 
read in our presence, and I venture to say that few classes in 
Buchtel College today, advanced as she may feel herself to 
be, produced test or examination papers as correct as were 
those of a certain class in moral philosophy during those early 
years. That the class had been studying moral philosophy 
is worthy of remark. 

One other great feature of that age was the afternoon set 
apart for public rhetorical exercises. How often it came I 
do not recollect, but it was an occasion long remembered and 
long looked forward to, not always, however, with the most 
pleasing anticipations. No merciful provision was made then, 
as now, by which the new student had a chance to overcome 
his first feeling of awkwardness and strangeness before his own 
class. No; proclamation was issued that upon a certain day 
he must appear before the public with an original production. 
The day itself was in some respects like the great examination 
day. The lower chapel was crowded. In those good old 
days it was not necessary to drum up an audience for rhetorical 
exercises; both students and the public seem to have had an 
insatiable hunger for college oratory and poetry. 

I remember with what awe I used to look up to one of the 
older men of the students, at once the Nestor and the Homer 
of our company. I have no doubt the following lines, which 
formed the refrain of each verse in one of the more pretentious 
efforts of his muse, will call up a vivid picture in the minds of 
some of the older readers of The Buchtelite: 



EARLY DAYS 71 

"If you want to gain extensive knowledge. 
Come and obtain it at Buchtel College," 

I can still see the imposing figure of the poet, as he stood 
upon the platform, and hear the sonorous tones of his voice 
as he chanted his verses. 

In looking over some of the early documents of the College, 
I recently came across a pamphlet, bearing the date 1870, 
containing a history of the early movement toward founding 
the institution and an advertisement of the prospective college. 
In this pamphlet I found the following statement: "Adjoin- 
ing Akron on the east is Middlebury, an enterprising town of 
2,000 inhabitants, soon to be connected with Akron by a 
street railway running by the college campus." How far this 
prophecy came from fulfillment no one knows better than the 
writer of this sketch. It was her painful privilege in the heat 
of summer and the cold of winter; in rain, snow and sleet; 
through mud and over ice, to plod her weary way for six 
years from that same enterprising town of Middlebury to Buch- 
tel College, in search of the "extensive knowledge" of which 
our early bard so eloquently sang. The writer, however, con- 
gratulates herself that she did not, confiding in that little word 
"soon," sit down and wait for the street railway to be built 
before getting her college education. 



72 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

THE COLLEGE ON THE HILL 

Written by Lulu Weeks Knight, ex- 06 

There is a college on the hill; 
'Tis crowned with Heaven's blue; 
And golden hopes its doorways fill 
In manly hearts and true. 
The brightest sunbeams gather here. 
The sweetest south-winds blow; 
There's many a smile of merry cheer 
And many a gladsome glow. 

Chorus 
Sing yoho, Sing yoho, 
Sing tenderly and clearly. 
Sing yoho. Sing yoho. 
While our hearts with feeling thrill; 
Sing yoho. Sing yoho, 
For the place we love so dearly, 
Sing yoho. Sing yoho, 
For the college on the hill. 

There is a college on the hill, 

Where tender memories throng; 

And faithful hearts are clinging still 

To oldtime love and song. 

But we in heart can cherish here 

The old, and still, the new. 

For time can only make more dear 

The old gold and the blue. 

There is a college on the hill; 

Oh, may she stand for e'er. 

Untouched by aught of wrong or ill. 

The fairest of the fair. 

Oh, may her laurel wreaths be won 

With pure undying fame! 

Old Buchtel, live thou proudly on. 

Beneath thy founder's name. 



CHAPTER V 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
PRESIDENT CONE 

1880-1896 

TEN years had passed since the incorporation of Buchtel 
College, eight since it first opened its doors for the ad- 
mission of students. In so short a period of time it 
was not to be expected that a new institution of this character 
should have become fully and efficiently organized. 

So, at the beginning of this third administrative period in 
its history, the College was still confronted with the real prob- 
lems of every such new institution; viz., strengthening its fac- 
ulty, organizing and classifying its students, developing its 
courses of study, increasing its equipment, and putting itself 
upon an adequate financial basis. 

On June 26, 1880, the Board of Trustees of Buchtel Col- 
lege at their regular annual meeting, having received and 
accepted the resignation of President Rexford, appointed a 
committee consisting of John R. Buchtel, the Reverend J. S. 
Cantwell, D. D., Judge N. D. Tibbals, General A. C. Voris, 
and the Honorable S. M. Burnham, "to secure a man who, in 
their opinion, would fill the chair of President in a satisfactory 
manner, and report their decision to the Board." At a special 
meeting of the Board called on August 3, 1 880, Doctor J. S. 
Cantwell reported for the committee "that, in the opinion of 
the committee. Doctor Orello Cone, of Canton, New York, 
was the best and most available man to be found for the Presi- 
dency of the College." It was thereupon unanimously voted 
by the Board "that the Presidency of the Faculty of Buchtel 
College be tendered to Doctor Orello Cone." Doctor Cone 
accepted this appointment and entered upon the duties as 



74 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"President of the Faculty" of Buchtel College the following 
month. On Monday, September 13, public inaugural services 
were held in the College chapel. The Honorable John R. 
Buchtel, president of the Board, delivered to Doctor Cone 
the keys of the institution and invested him with full authority 
as president of the College. Doctor Cone responded with an 
able address, in which he dwelt at length upon the tendencies 
of the times as affecting the proper development of educational 
ideals, particularly those pertaining to higher education. 

Before coming to Buchtel, Doctor Cone had been for four- 
teen years Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature in 
the Theological School of St. Lawrence University, Canton, 
New York. During these years he had gained fame steadily 
as scholar and author in the field of New Testament criticism, 
partly by articles of unusual merit which appeared in leading 
religious reviews, but especially by his published books. Gospel 
Criticism and Historical Christianity, The Gospel and Its 
Earliest Interpretations, Paul the Man and the Missionary, 
and Rich and Poor in the New Testament. These volumes 
at once took their place among the foremost authorities on the 
topics treated, for they displayed not only an excellent sense of 
literary form, but love of learning, wise judgment, exact 
scholarship, and a thorough grasp of the subjects under 
consideration. 

As showing the high esteem in which Doctor Cone was 
held by the Universalist denomination at that time, as well as 
the confidence in his ability to fill the important position to 
which he had been called, we quote from articles in the two 
leading Universalist papers of that day, as the articles were 
reprinted in the Akron Beacon. The Star in the West, pub- 
lished in Cincinnati, said: 

"We congratulate the Universalists of Ohio in this choice of a 
President for our important institution. We believe it will be 
ratified by the entire denomination and prove acceptable to all 
patrons of the College. Rev. Dr. Cone is well and honorably 



PRESIDENT CONES ADMINISTRATION 75 

known among us from his long connection with St. Lawrence 
University, where for twelve or more years he has been engaged 
in the work of education. He is in the prime of life, a gentleman 
of wide culture and scholarship and of noble zeal and devotion 
to the work to which he has consecrated his years. His influence 
over his students has always been notable, and as the President 
of Buchtel College he will have a fine sphere for the exercise of 
his personal influence with corresponding results over the young 
minds and hearts committed to his charge. We have no doubt 
that his administration of the College will be highly successful, 
and that from the time he begins his labors a new era of prosperity 
and usefulness will dawn for our beloved institution." 

The Christian Leader of Boston commented as follows: 

"In the rooms of the Publishing House Mr. Buchtel of Akron 
and Dr. O. Cone of Canton met the past week. And then and 
there the deed was done. Formally Dr. Cone accepts a call to 
the Presidency of Buchtel College. 

"Regret and expectation mingle in about equal proportions 
as we learn of this decision. To the Canton school it is a loss. 
His accurate and increasing scholarship, particularly in the depart- 
ment which his professorship covered, his aptness and thorough- 
ness as a teacher, and the interest, personal as well as professional, 
which he uniformly took in his scholars, have combined to make 
him exceptionally useful in his important trust. His place, we 
shall hope, can be filled, yet it will be difficult to find a successor 
so exactly adapted to duties for which no qualification is more 
valuable than long experience. 

"The position he accepts is, in many respects, unlike the one 
he leaves. It is less special and far more inclusive. The teacher 
is also administrator and financier. The life will be a new one. 
We cannot doubt that the faculties are there only waiting to un- 
fold. Buchtel must feel the prestige of ripe scholarship at its 
head We congratulate the Buchtel management 

"Our cause in Ohio and in all the West, yes in the whole 
country, will be immeasurably strengthened." 

The office of president of a college is a position that calls 
for a wide range of personal characteristics if one is to be in 
any great degree successful throughout a long period of years. 
In earlier days it was essential that he be a minister of the 
gospel, especially in a denominational school. He should be 
a thorough student, a scholar of wide and thorough culture. 
He should be a student of human nature and a wise judge of 
men, in order that he may gather about him strong men and 



76 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

women for his co-workers. He should be a shrewd and cap- 
able disciplinarian to lead young people of college age to 
have proper respect for discipline and authority without unduly 
antagonizing them. Especially in earlier days was the matter 
of student discipline and government a very different problem 
from that of today. Another very important qualification of 
a college president is that he should be a leader among men 
and at the same time a good mixer. A president of a college 
should further be a good money-getter himself, or he should 
have the faculty of commanding those who are able to secure 
it. Without large and ever increasing funds for operation, 
for expansion, for endowment, no institution can expect to 
keep pace with the modern demands made upon it. 

College boards of trustees know only too well how difficult 
a matter it is to find at the proper time the right man endowed 
with all these exacting qualifications. President Cone pos- 
sessed many of them to a marked degree. The rapid growth 
of the institution for a number of years after his coming to 
Buchtel bears testimony to the ability with which he admin- 
istered its affairs. The faculty was strengthened from time 
to time by adding to the coterie of strong men and women 
which he found when coming to Buchtel others of like strength 
and scholarship, as opportunity offered and as the needs of 
the institution increased. Old courses of study were improved 
and new departments were added. And withal the student 
body showed a healthy increase in numbers from year to year. 

The one important qualification wanting in President Cone 
was the ability to command financial assistance for the insti- 
tution from men and women of means. 

During the earlier years of his administration, so long as 
Mr. Buchtel was living, the financial problem was readily 
solved, for Mr. Buchtel had money to give, and it was his 
pleasure to contribute generously to the needs of the College; 
moreover, his giving became contagious with other friends of 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 77 

the institution. But with Mr. Buchtel's passing in 1892, to- 
gether with the business depression of the country during the 
ensuing years, the financial strength of the College began to 
wane. Few colleges of the country, especially the smaller 
ones, are sufficiently endowed to operate under the ever-in- 
creasing demands for strengthening courses of study, adding 
new departments, taking on additional instructors, procuring 
new and up-to-date equipment, etc., without a considerable 
discrepancy each year between the annual budget and the 
normal income. Buchtel was no exception to this recurring 
phenomenon. President Cone repeatedly called the trustees' 
attention to these conditions in his annual reports. But, as 
"hope springs eternal," there was always the belief that some 
means would be found to provide for these expanding needs of 
the College, and so long as Mr. Buchtel was alive and actively 
interested in the affairs of the College the trustees, perhaps 
often against their better judgment, deferred to the insistent 
demands for expansion. With the reversal in the tide of the 
business affairs of the country about 1893, Buchtel was oper- 
ating upon a scale such that to have brought her expenditures 
within her normal income would have resulted in the practical 
closing of her doors. 

In an effort to meet the crisis, the Board of Trustees ap- 
pointed a committee of attorneys from their number to investi- 
gate and report as to what were their duties under the 
circumstances confronting them. As a result of the report of 
this committee, the Board reached the conclusion that it was 
their duty to continue to operate the College as best they could 
rather than to take drastic measures that would inevitably 
result in closing its doors as a college of standing. The policy 
then became one of contraction and reduction in expenses 
rather than one of expansion as had heretofore been the policy. 
President Cone had never professed any ability to secure funds 
for the institution. In fact, he did not concede that it was 



78 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

really one of the duties of the president of a college. His 
refinement of temperament was naturally averse to approaching 
people for money gifts. His thought was that such duties 
should be assigned to some special representative of the insti- 
tution, employed for the special purpose of securing financial 
help. In accordance with this idea, the plan was tried at 
various times, but without adequate results. And so the affairs 
of the College continued from year to year until in 1896 
Doctor Cone resigned the presidency after a service of six- 
teen years. Twelve of these years covered the most prosper- 
ous period in the institution's history, and it is deeply to be 
regretted that the circumstances attending the last four years 
of this administration should have cast a shadow over the 
brilliancy of its earlier successes. 

Following his retirement from Buchtel, Doctor Cone ac- 
cepted a pastorate at Lawrence, Kansas, which he held for two 
years. He was then recalled to the Theological School at St. 
Lawrence University, Canton, New York, whence he had 
been called eighteen years before to the presidency of Buchtel. 
He continued to fill the chair of Biblical theology at St. 
Lawrence up to the time of his death on Saturday, June 24, 
1905. During his years at Buchtel, in addition to his duties 
as president, he held the Messenger Professorship of Mental 
and Moral Philosophy, and delivered lectures to the junior 
and senior classes in political economy, psychology, and ethics. 

FACULTY 

The true measure of the success of an institution of learning 
is not found alone in the personal attainments and activities 
of its president. No matter how well equipped he may be 
for that important position, or how faithfully he may perform 
its functions, he alone cannot build up a great college. Given 
a strong and scholarly man at the head of an institution of 
learning, one of the greatest factors contributing to its success 
is to be found in the personnel of its faculty. Indeed, the real 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 79 

Strength and efficiency of an educational institution is meas- 
ured in a very large degree by the character, the training, and 
the individual loyalty of the persons who make up its corps 
of instructors. In the main the men and women who have 
occupied the various chairs at Buchtel from time to time have 
been of such marked character as to give to this institution 
very high rank among the smaller colleges of the country. Not 
a few have served for long years with such distinction as to 
become greatly endeared to the students who have come under 
their training. 

At the time when President Cone assumed the direction of 
affairs at Buchtel in the fall of 1880, there were three men 
upon the faculty of the college proper who had been with the 
institution nearly from its beginning. They had been per- 
sonally interested in the development and organization of the 
school, and had put into their respective departments such 
personality and efficient methods of instruction as to give to 
the institution, in subsequent years, an enviable reputation for 
real college training. 

The three men referred to were Professor Carl F. Kolbe, 
Professor Elias Fraunfelter, and Professor Charles M. Knight. 
The mention of these three names at once recalls in the minds 
of those students of early days who have been fortunate enough 
to come under the personal direction of these great teachers, 
keen recollections and deep gratitude for the strong influences 
for good which those men have exerted upon their daily 
lives. Many are the students of old Buchtel who count it a 
rare privilege to have studied under them. 

At the very opening of the College in 1 872 Professor Carl 
F. Kolbe was called to the chair of modern languages, and 
it is stated that he had the distinction of hearing the first 
recitation in the new Buchtel College. These early recitations 
were held, it is reported, even before the structure was fully 
completed. In the early days of the College the department 



80 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

of modern languages was very largely confined to the study 
of the German language and literature. Little French was 
offered, and no Spanish, until in later years. But the study 
of German under Professor Kolbe was indeed a real study. 
With the adoption of the elective system in 1882, and its 
gradual extension in subsequent years, it gave greater oppor- 
tunity for broadening the work offered in this as in other de- 
partments. And Professor Kolbe was always alert to give the 
student the widest possible range in his studies that might be 
consistent with thoroughness. In recognition of the distin- 
guished services rendered by Professor Kolbe in educational 
work, Lafayette College conferred upon him the honorary de- 
gree of Master of Arts, and in 1890 Lombard College con- 
ferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor 
Kolbe continued to occupy the chair of modern languages 
throughout the entire administration of President Cone, and 
up to the day of his death on May 1 0, 1 905 — in all, a period 
of thirty-three years, excepting only the one year, 1877-8, 
when leave of absence was granted him. 

Professor Elias Fraunfelter was another of the trio of strong 
and noted teachers in Buchtel College at the beginning of 
President Cone's administration. He entered upon his work 
as professor of mathematics and civil engineering in 1874. 
Professor Fraunfelter occupied the chair of mathematics, but 
in the vigor and action which characterized his teaching the 
"chair" was very little used. He always mingled closely with 
his students, entering into the details of the solution of their 
problems at close range. And yet withal he was dignified 
and exacting in his relations with his students. None ever 
presumed upon undue familiarity to "bluff" through a lesson 
in his classes. Professor Fraunfelter was a man of action. In 
setting forth with his class for the day's work in surveying, it 
was always, "Come on, boys!" and it was no laggard's task 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 81 

to follow him, under the heavy burden of transit or level, to 
the spot where the day's work was to be done. 

For three years after Doctor Cone came to Buchtel, Pro- 
fessor Fraunfelter continued as the head of the mathematics 
department. In the summer of 1883 he tendered his resigna- 
tion to accept the position of superintendent of the Akron 
Public Schools. 

The third member of that tno of strong men, Professor 
C. M. Knight, occupied the chair of natural sciences as it 
was called at that time. This comprised the subjects of chem- 
istry, physics, geology and botany. As might be inferred, so 
wide a range of subjects could not be adequately covered by 
one man. Nevertheless, Doctor Knight handled his depart- 
ment, particularly the chemistry, in such an able manner as to 
give it a very advanced rank among the colleges of the day. 
Perhaps no other department of the College has sent out among 
its graduates so many men who have achieved marked success 
as has the department of chemistry. In 1 884, with the coming 
of Doctor Claypole, Professor Knight was relieved of all the 
so-called science work except chemistry and physics. These 
two subjects he carried throughout the remainder of Doctor 
Cone's administration and for some years thereafter, when he 
was also relieved of the work in physics. Through all these 
years the work in chemistry was the delight of Professor 
Knight's ambitions. 

But classroom training alone did not absorb his interest and 
attention. He always did his share and more as a member 
of the faculty, in advising as to the development of policies for 
the institution, in counseling as to those things constantly arising 
from time to time in the growing and changing affairs of student 
life, and in improving the courses of study. One has only to 
read the earlier Rules and Regulations that were adopted for 
the government of the student body, and then compare them 
with such as are in use at the present time, to see how the 



82 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

institution has gradually changed in this respect from a very 
strong system of faculty government in early days to one of 
almost exclusive student self-government at the present time. 
And throughout all these changes no one person took a more 
advanced and progressive part than did Professor Knight. 

Likewise in the development of the college curriculum Pro- 
fessor Knight's wise counsel has been strongly felt. Two 
features in this development have been especially noteworthy 
at Buchtel. One was the gradual change from the old set 
courses of study, whereby all studies were definitely prescribed 
throughout the full four years, to the elective courses which 
allow the student a wide range of choice in the studies he will 
pursue for his college course. This change has come about 
gradually, but it is a noteworthy fact that Buchtel was among 
the very first institutions of the country to inaugurate this 
change. 

The other feature referred to is the development of the 
scientific courses of study which, in an increasing measure from 
year to year, have grown up in the colleges alongside the older 
classical course. Originally these scientific courses did not 
take high rank for cultural value and mental discipline as 
compared with the classics, but with the passing of the years, 
and under the guidance and direction of able minds and the 
painstaking judgment of men like Doctor Knight, the sciences 
have come to take equal rank with other studies in the college 
curriculum. 

ANCIENT LANGUAGES 

The professor of ancient languages the first year of Doctor 
Cone's administration was Benjamin T. Jones, A. M., who 
had just been transferred from the chair of rhetoric and Eng- 
lish literature. Two years later the professorship was divided, 
William D. Shipman, A. M., an alumnus of Buchtel, be- 
coming professor of Greek, and Charles C. Bates, A. M., 
professor of Latin. This arrangement continued until the year 



PRESIDENT CONES ADMINISTRATION 83 

preceding Doctor Cone's retirement from the presidency, when 
the two professorships were again merged, and thereafter both 
Greek and Latin were taught by Professor Bates. 

MATHEMATICS 

On the resignation of Professor Fraunfelter in 1 883, the 
chair of mathematics was filled by George S. Ely, Ph. D. 
Doctor Ely remained only one year. His successor was 
Charles S. Howe, Ph. D., who had been adjunct-professor 
under Doctor Ely. Doctor Howe filled this position with 
great ability for five years, when he resigned to accept a posi- 
tion in Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland. In 1 903 
he was made president of that institution, a position which 
he still holds. 

While at Buchtel Doctor Howe expanded the work in his 
department to cover many branches of applied and advanced 
mathematics, and he was active in raising money for the build- 
ing of a small astronomical observatory and equipping it with 
many instruments for practical and precise work. 

Perhaps there were no more important and epoch-making 
developments during Professor Howe's period of service at 
Buchtel than the organizing of athletics and physical training, 
the forming of the battalion known as the "Buchtel College 
Cadets," and the building of Crouse Gymnasium. The de- 
tails of this work are given on subsequent pages. Suffice it to 
say here that Professor Howe took a very active part in pro- 
moting these projects. In all this work he was actively sup- 
ported by Professor Tracy L. Jeffords, who served as adjunct- 
professor of mathematics from September, 1886, until De- 
cember, 1887, when he resigned to accept an appointment as 
secretary to the Honorable George W. Crouse, representative 
from this district in Congress. 

Doctor Howe's successor as head of the department was 
Hermas V. Egbert, A. M., who carried the work forward suc- 
cessfully during the remainder of Doctor Cone's administration. 



84 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

During this period the position of adjunct-professor of 
mathematics was filled successively by James H. Aydelotte, 
B. S., Philip G. Wright. A. M., Tracy L. Jeffords, Ph. B., 
Charles R. Olin, B. S., Willard H. Van Orman, B. S., and 
John W. Sleppey, A. M. 

BIOLOGY 

In January, 1 884, the chair of natural sciences was created 
as distinct from that of chemistry and physics. Up to this 
time all these subjects were combined under the instruction of 
Professor Knight. 

Edward W. Claypole, B. A., B. Sc, F. G. S., was called 
from Antioch College to assume charge of this new depart- 
ment of the College. As the life, character, and work of 
Doctor Claypole are narrated in a subsequent chapter of this 
history, suffice it to say here that he developed his depart- 
ment into one of the most important, most popular, and at the 
same time most exacting, departments of the College. He, 
perhaps as much as anyone connected with the institution, made 
Buchtel College known and recognized throughout the coun- 
try as a college of high standards, thorough work, and effi- 
cient training. He developed the laboratory and field method 
of study and research to its fullest degree. He created in his 
students a genuine love for and interest in the work of his 
department. He resigned his exacting work in 1897. His 
going was regretted by a large number of students who had 
enjoyed the great privilege of receiving instruction from him, 
and by all members of the faculty who had been associated 
with him in the administration of college affairs. 

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE 

Among the several chairs that were endowed in the earlier 
days of Buchtel College was one endowed by the women of 
the Universalist denomination and called the Pierce Professor- 
ship of English Literature, named in honor of Mrs. Chloe 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 85 

Pierce of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, she being one of the 
enthusiastic and Hberal supporters of Buchtel College during 
its early development. At the time President Cone was called 
to the presidency it vs^as thought to be extremely fitting that a 
woman should occupy this chair, and this feeling materialized 
when the Board of Trustees extended the call to Miss Maria 
Parsons, A. M., to accept the appointment as professor of the 
English language and literature. 

For four years Miss Parsons filled the position with marked 
success. She had a peculiar talent for keen literary analysis 
and interpretation. Withal she was unremitting in her en- 
deavors to develop in her students any literary talents that 
might be lying dormant. And she had keen perception as 
to whether there were any such dormant talents. It was a 
favorite custom with her to require from her students from 
time to time original compositions of various literary forms. 
At one time it would be a narrative, at another an essay, at 
another a biography, and so on, until the whole range of 
literary productions had been covered. 

Miss Parsons had strong and appreciative friends among 
those who enjoyed literary subjects. She resigned in 1884 
for the purpose of traveling in Europe as private instructor 
to the sons of the late Colonel Conger. In September, 1895, 
Miss Parsons was recalled to take charge of the English and 
rhetoric in the preparatory department, and in 1 897 was again 
appointed professor of English literature in the College, which 
position she held until 1905. 

Upon Miss Parsons' retirement in 1884, the alumni of the 
institution felt that one of their number ought to be considered 
in the filling of this position ; not simply for the sake of honor- 
ing one of Buchtel's graduates, but for the more compelling 
reason that they felt they had among them one who from 
training and teaching experience was fully equipped to fill the 
chair with honor, with credit, and with ability. In consequence 



86 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

of this movement, Miss Mary B. Jewett, A. B., of the class 
of '76, was appointed to the chair of EngHsh literature. After 
her graduation. Miss Jewett had taken post-graduate work at 
Buchtel and later had been appointed to a position in the 
English department of Hiram College. It was the peculiar 
merit of her work at Hiram as a teacher, along with her 
high character as a woman, that commended her, in the minds 
of her fellow graduates and former associates, for this vacant 
position at Buchtel. And so Miss Jewett was among the first 
of Buchtel's graduates to be called to take so important a 
part in the administration of the instructional work of her 
Alma Mater. Miss Jewett's affable manner, her keen per- 
sonal interest in her students, and her enthusiasm for the suc- 
cess of her Alma Mater, combined with her ability as an 
instructor, made her a favorite with both pupils and faculty. 
She continued as a member of the faculty until 1 892, when 
she resigned to prepare herself for the medical profession. 

Miss Jewett was followed by Miss Margaret G. Bradford, 
A. B., who resigned the following year and was succeeded by 
Miss Ellen E. Garrigues, A. M. Miss Garrigues occupied 
this position during the remainder of President Cone's ad- 
ministration and for one year thereafter. She proved herself 
a faithful and efficient instructor, and made many warm friends 
among the students of her time. 

HISTORY 

Prior to 1885 very little attention had been given to the 
study of history beyond perhaps a term or two of Green's 
History of the English People offered to freshmen. At this 
time, however, the study of history was given more prominence 
in the curriculum, and Miss Dora E. Merrill was appointed 
to give instruction in this subject. Unfortunately the financial 
limitations of the institution would not permit the full develop- 
ment of this new department to the extent of its importance in 
the work of a liberal education. But Miss Merrill made it 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 87 

not only a popular subject of study, but also a most valuable 
branch of the curriculum during her seven years at Buchtel. 
Miss Merrill came at the same time as Miss Jewett, and their 
term of service was co-terminous. While here they w^ere al- 
most inseparable companions, and this intimate association con- 
tinued long years after leaving Buchtel. Upon Miss Merrill's 
retirement, the instruction in history was merged with the work 
of the instructor of English literature. 

ELOCUTION, RHETORIC, AND ORATORY 

From 1886 to 1890 Miss Ada M. Mariner, M. S., B. O., 
filled the position of instruction in elocution. Upon her retire- 
ment the work was enlarged, a chair of oratory and rhetoric 
was established, and Cecil Harper, A. M., was appointed to 
fill the position during the year 1 890- 1 . The next year L. 
Alonzo Butterfield, A. M., Ph. D., was elected to the chair 
and remained with the institution four years. He was followed 
by Mrs. A. M. Garrigues as instructor in oratory during the 
years 1895 to 1897. 

The work of this department was thereafter much curtailed, 
but during the period of its continuance it was very popular 
with students inclined to such work, and served probably 
more than any other department of the College to win a 
favorable impression from the public. Later the subject was 
again put into the college curriculum. 

LAW 

In 1883 the faculty established among the electives offered 
to the seniors a course of lectures on American constitutional 
law and international law. Mr, A. B. Tinker, M. S., LL. B., 
was appointed to give this work, which he did with marked 
ability during the period from 1883 to 1890. He was suc- 
ceeded by Major Frederick C. Bryan, A. B., LL. B., and 
Judge Charles R. Grant, A. B. The course in law was dis- 
continued in 1894. 



88 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 

When Buchtel College was first established it was deemed 
fitting to establish a preparatory school in connection with it, 
primarily as a feeder for the college proper. During the en- 
tire period of Doctor Cone's administration the preparatory 
department was under the direction of Miss Jennie Gifford 
as principal. Miss Gifford during all these years was a judi- 
cious administrator, an able instructor, a strict disciplinarian, 
a wise counsellor, and a genuine friend to those who merited 
her friendship. 

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS 

In 1880 the campus embraced the block between Carroll 
Street and Buchtel Avenue (then known as Middlebury 
Street) substantially as it now is, with the exception of cer- 
tain houses and lots fronting on Carroll Street between Sumner 
Street and the west line of the gymnasium. These lots have 
been acquired from time to time until this entire block is now 
embodied in the campus. 

During the eighties no particular plot of land was set apart 
for athletic games. Certain vacant lots south of Carroll Street 
and opposite the campus were used for baseball and football 
games. In time these lots were built upon and were no longer 
available for playgrounds. In 1892 the college trustees pur- 
chased the tract consisting of about four acres located about 
five minutes' walk to the south of the campus at the corner of 
Kling and Wheeler Streets. This was enclosed with a high 
fence and a grandstand was erected to accommodate about 
three hundred people. This field was fitted up with baseball 
field, football field, cinder track, and at times with tennis 
courts. "Buchtel Field," as it has been called, has served not 
only for games by the college boys, but it has been used also 
for practice by Akron high school boys, and more recently by 
other amateur athletic teams of the city. 



PRESIDENT CONE'S ADMINISTRATION 89 

The "Old College Building" was the only building upon 
the campus, other than the president's house, during the early 
eighties. This is the building pictured in the minds of all the 
earlier students and alumni when you speak to them of "Old 
Buchtel." It was an imposing structure, five stories in height, 
two hundred and fifty feet long, and stood out prominently 
from the campus heights. It could be seen towering high above 
all the rest of the city from all parts of the surrounding coun- 
try. When this building was first erected it was especially 
adapted to the combined needs of a dormitory and boarding 
school, but as time developed the particular needs of the Col- 
lege there was less and less need for the dormitory feature, 
while the need for more and larger recitation and laboratory 
accommodations kept growing. Hence it became necessary 
from time to time to remodel the interior arrangements by re- 
moving partitions and converting sleeping and living apartments 
into schoolroom requirements. And to the close of Doctor 
Cone's administration the "Old College Building" served its 
purpose well as dormitory, boarding hall, and recitation and 
laboratory building. 

The two new buildings secured during Doctor Cone's ad- 
ministration were the astronomical observatory and Crouse 
Gymnasium. As the story of their erection is told fully else- 
where in this History, we shall not repeat it here. Suffice it to 
say, that the building of the gymnasium was one of the most 
important events for the College at this time in the way of 
material expansion. 



90 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



ALMA MATER TRUE 

CLASS SONG OF THE CLASS OF '82 

(The author of this song was Agnes Kuleman, '81 , since deceased. 
The music for it Was composed by A. S. Kimball, at that time professor 
of voice culture and harmony in Buchtel College. The song was first 
published in "The BuchteV the annual published by the senior class in 
1882. Of the six stanzas we give three — the first, third, and sixth.) 

Crowning the crest of Ohio's hills, 
Afar to the North where Erie thrills 
The earth with his rapturous waves, stands she 
Who links our common destiny, 
Beloved Alma Mater! 

Refrain 
Sing for Alma Mater true. 
Sing for Alma Mater true. 
Sing for Alma Mater true. 
And the good staunch class of '82. 

Ah, well! the story can soon be told; 
Those years, more worth to us than gold. 
Brought Sophomore wisdom. Junior wit. 
And what the Seniors add to it — 
The dignitas Senioris. 

Long live the class of '82 ! 
Long be she to her watchword truel 
Long be the thoughts of college days. 
Of jolly student's life and ways' L 

Long live our Alma Mater! 



CHAPTER VI 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF DOCTOR KNIGHT 
AND PRESIDENT PRIEST 

1896-7; 1897-1901 

the administration of doctor c. m. knight 
(ad interim) 

THE year 1 896-7 was a period of transition. The goal 
to which all bent their efforts was "the greater Buch- 
tel," "the more glorious Buchtel," heralded at the last 
Commencement Reunion. Until a permanent successor to 
Doctor Cone could be chosen, it was especially fitting that 
one should direct the institution whose long experience and 
sterling qualities fitted him for this important service. Such 
a one was found in Doctor C. M. Knight, "the scholar and 
the gentleman," who for many years had filled the chair of 
chemistry at Buchtel. It has been truly said, "He would 
have made an excellent president could he have won his own 
consent." But the charms of the classroom and the laboratory 
prevailed over the routine and sometimes irksome duties of the 
presidential office. Justly, temperately, wisely, he performed 
those tasks, and gave them up to his successor without regret. 
It was a quiet year. The attitude of the Universalist Con- 
vention toward the College had been shown by a memorial in 
June, 1896, in which that body asked: 

1 . That the majority of the Committee on Instruction of the 
Board of Trustees be Universalists. 

2. That the Lady Principal of the Preparatory Academy be 
of that denomination. 

3. That the instructors, if possible, and competent, be Uni- 
versalists. 

4. That preference be given to Universalists in employment 
about the grounds. 

5. That the boys be put back into the East Dormitory. 



92 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

6. That it be -remembered that 90% of college funds comes 
from Universalists. 

One, at least, of these suggestions was followed. For three 
years the college men had been compelled to room outside the 
building. This year saw their reinstatement in "East Hall." 
A Students' Boarding Club was also formed. It was in the 
hands of the students, but under the supervision of a member 
of the faculty. The college authorities gave full use of the 
dining-room and kitchen and the board expense was limited 
to $3 per week. The enrollment in college, preparatory, and 
normal departments was 161 students, not including those in 
music and art, showing a decrease of nearly 20% from that 
of the preceding year. 

As usual, the community took the College for granted, 
smiling benevolently over its prosperity, but apparently not 
appreciating its times of adversity — not indifferent, only 
thoughtless. The College, naturally, was embarrassed by the 
three years of general financial distress. There could be no 
improvements; in fact, so serious was the financial condition 
that the question of suspending work for one year was gravely 
discussed, and only the fear of legal complications — involving 
the forfeiture of the charter — and the deep loyalty of all con- 
cerned, prevented this calamity. In this crisis the Alumni 
Association voted that each of its members pledge $200; the 
faculty voted a 10% reduction of salary; the boarding de- 
partment of the College was discontinued; the secretary re- 
ported an increasing deficit with no recommendation to pro- 
vide. The trustees voted to issue bonds to raise money for the 
current expenses and the floating indebtedness; also, to pub- 
lish a denial of the rumor that the College would not open in 
the fall. Such were the conditions prevailing when, on May 
20, 1897, Doctor Knight was appointed dean of the faculty, 
and Doctor Ira A. Priest, who had been serving the Universa- 
list Church as pastor, was made president. 



PRESIDENT PRIESTS ADMINISTRATION 93 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF DOCTOR IRA A. PRIEST 

Doctor Priest was born at Mt. Holly, Vermont, near Rut- 
land, in May, 1 856, and spent his boyhood on the farm. In 
1 876 he left home to get an education, and worked his way 
through Goddard Seminary and Tufts College, receiving his 
degree from the latter in 1884. In 1887 he attained his B. D. 
from the Tufts Divinity School. He held pastorates at Mun- 
son, Massachusetts, two years; at Adams, Massachusetts, 
three years; and at Newtonville, Massachusetts, nearly five 
years. In 1887 he married Miss Eva Hall, teacher of art 
at Goddard Seminary. In October, 1 896, he came to Akron 
as pastor of the Universalist Church, and within three months 
became chaplain and instructor of classes in ethics and psy- 
chology at the College. He was inaugurated president of 
Buchtel College June 24, 1897, and entered on his duties 
July first. 

Doctor Priest possessed many qualities fitting him for this 
position. He was active, positive, sympathetic and tactful. 
He was a man of good executive ability and courageous 
leadership. His method of address was simple, direct, and 
effective. Both the liberal and conservative parties claimed 
him. His work at the College in the last six months had 
given him a knowledge of conditions and management that 
was invaluable, and an acquaintance with the students that 
formed an excellent basis for future friendship and sympathy. 
Great enthusiasm was aroused by his ringing speech before 
the Universalist Convention, and everyone felt that the tide 
had turned for a longer and stronger flow under the new 
administration. 

The attendance during the year 1897-8 showed a slight 
increase over that of the year before. Three valuable mem- 
bers of the faculty, Doctor Claypole, Miss Garrigues, and 
Miss Bortle, were missing at the beginning; two others. Miss 
Gifford and Miss Stockman, resigned at its close. Efforts 



94 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

were continued to maintain the College's very existence. The 
professors asked for a 25% reduction of salary, which was 
granted. The president, through Commencement addresses 
and other speeches, sought to bring the College before the 
people, while "Reference Committees" on information per- 
taining to the College were appointed in territories from which 
the College was wont to draw students. 

By this time the need of a science hall had become impera- 
tive, and in June, 1899, plans for a $60,000 building were 
presented by Herbert Briggs, '89, of Cleveland. The alumni 
attempted a campaign for the necessary funds, but, finding that 
the College could not meet its annual expenses, and lacking 
proper organization, they became discouraged and the plan 
was abandoned. 

While man proposed, God disposed. Shortly after five 
o'clock on the afternoon of December 20, 1899, the day 
before the fall term closed, a fire of mysterious origin broke 
out in the attic at the east end of Buchtel College, and within 
three hours the building was a heap of ruins. Although a 
faculty meeting and a Delta Gamma meeting were in progress, 
and other students were in the building at the time, no one 
knew of the fire until a man rushed into the west end, shouting 
the alarm. Two fire departments arrived promptly, but it 
was soon discovered that the fire was of a serious nature, and 
five minutes later the entire city department was called out. 
A half hour after the fire started, the middle and eastern 
parts of the building were in flames. Workmen on their way 
home dropped their dinner pails and gave heroic aid to the 
students and members of the faculty who were carrying books, 
clothing, and pieces of furniture out of the burning building 
across the campus into the gymnasium. An hour after the 
fire was discovered, police officers stopped the work of remov- 
ing the contents of the building, as it was no longer safe to 
enter it. Fortunately, no lives were lost, although there were 



PRESIDENT PRIESTS ADMINISTRATION 95 

several narrow escapes, and at one time a number of firemen 
were nearly crushed by a falling wall. The major part of 
the library was rescued ; the remainder was in the library annex 
and was totally destroyed. 

In financial terms the loss was $100,000, but no money 
could redeem what the College suffered in other ways. The 
priceless collections of Doctor McCollester and Doctor Clay- 
pole, second to none in the country, representing their life 
work and labors; the valuable records of present and past 
students, representing months of toil and research on the part 
of the sons and daughters of Buchtel; books and magazines 
of reference, dating back for a quarter of a century; all these 
things could never be replaced. But hope and courage, faith 
and love, sprang eternal in the hearts of Buchtel's friends. At 
nine o'clock the next morning a meeting of students, faculty, 
and such of the alumni and friends as could be present, was 
held in the First Universalist Church. An able address was 
made by President Priest, full of appreciation of loyalty 
shown, and of reassurance to the young people; by Gerald 
Brown, '00, and Edson M. Robinson, '01, representing the 
student body, who pledged the support and return of every 
one of them; by the Honorable George W. Crouse, president 
of the Board of Trustees, voicing the regret of the whole city 
over the disaster, and its co-operation in the future. On the 
same afternoon, the local trustees, members of the faculty, and 
a committee of the Alumni Association, met at the president's 
residence. It was decided to finish the year's work, and a 
committee was appointed to find suitable classrooms. Two 
days later some of Akron's prominent business men met in the 
parlors of the City National Bank in response to Mr. Grouse's 
appeal. An enthusiastic and unanimous sentiment prevailed 
to help the trustees, and Mr. Crouse was authorized to say 
that $50,000 would be forthcoming from the citizens of 
Akron. The Board of Trustees, meeting on December 26, 



96 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

decided to get classrooms and to raise an amount sufficient 
not only to build suitable buildings, but to secure a surplus 
ample enough to equip the institution fully and to increase the 
endowment in order to keep Buchtel in the first rank of col- 
leges of its kind in Ohio. This committee consisted of Presi- 
dent Priest, the Honorable George W. Grouse, and Mr. 
Eberly Smith, banker, of Blanchester. Secretary Olin, who 
was asked to give an estimate of the total amount of funds 
needed, reported that $293,000 was necessary for the fol- 
lowing purposes: 

( 1 ) to restore the endowment funds already drawn upon. 

(2) to erect necessary buildings. 

(3) to properly endow the Gollege so as to put it on a self- 
sustaining basis. 

The trustees decided to relieve the president of all class- 
room work so that he might push the campaign vigorously, 
and the executive committee was empowered to look after the 
housing of students for the rest of the year. In consequence, 
the new term opened with full attendance on the morning of 
January 4, 1900, all standing for chapel services at nine 
o'clock in Grouse Gymnasium. Five rooms had been tem- 
porarily partitioned off in the gymnasium, and these, together 
with two small rooms adjoining, and the east room of the 
president's house, were used as classrooms. The south end 
of the gymnasium was used as a library and chapel, the base- 
ment for chemical and physical laboratories, while the pre- 
paratory students met in a business block near the president's 
house. The women students took up their residence at 
"Masaldwar,"^ a fourteen-room house on South Union. 
Street, with the preceptress, Miss Warner, in charge, under 
the rules prevailing in the old dormitory. The men found 
rooms in private homes. 

*"Masaldwar" is compounded of the first syllables of the names of the following 
women: Mrs. Frank Mason, Mrs. I. C. Alden (both of whom gave generously 
toward the furnishing of Masaldwar), and Miss Elmie Warner, preceptress. 



PRESIDENT PRIESTS ADMINISTRATION 97 

The students and faculty had rallied whole-heartedly to 
the situation. No less did the community respond. Akron 
had pledged its $50,000, the factory girls giving ten cents a 
week out of their pay. The Cleveland Alumni Association 
had a meeting, with A. E. Hyre as chairman. A $2,500 
pledge came from Vermont. The Universalist Convention 
promised to raise $100,000 outside Akron. A benefit min- 
strel show was given by the Postoffice employes for three 
nights and netted $ 1 ,000. Although the required amount 
had not been raised, the trustees, at their meeting March 2 1 , 
1900, were so encouraged that they voted "to erect such a 
Recitation Building necessary for the immediate needs of the 
College, to cost not more than $50,000 (the funds to be taken 
from the new subscriptions), and to approve the general plan 
submitted by the Committee of the faculty. Professors Knight 
and Orth, setting forth the arrangement of all the buildings 
on the campus which the College is likely to use for some 
time." 

In view of subsequent events it is interesting to know that 
even as early as this critical period of the great fire, an effort 
was made to secure at least some measure of city support for 
Buchtel College. The suggestion seems to have come first 
from Professor S. P. Orth of the faculty building committee. 
Professor Orth advocated the removal of the College to a 
point then west of the city, now in the heart of the new resi- 
dence section, where a large parcel of land could have been 
secured at a reasonable price. Professor Orth also consulted 
with Akron attorneys regarding the possibility of securing sup- 
port for the institution from city taxation. He was informed 
that a special act of the legislature would be required, and 
here, apparently, the matter dropped. It is, however, doubt- 
ful whether independence of denominational control could 
have been secured at that time, since the proportion of Univer- 
salist students had not yet declined to such a degree as was 



98 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the case fourteen years later when the Municipal University 
was actually established. 

The buildings left upon the campus after the fire were the 
president's house, Crouse Gymnasium, and the foundations 
for a building constructed several years before, west of the 
president's house and the gymnasium. There was also a par- 
tially constructed boiler-house west of the gymnasium, with a 
tunnel leading under the latter to about fifteen feet east of it. 

The committee's plan showed a permanent grouping of build- 
ings as follows: 

(1) A main building (Buchtel Hall) on the watershed of 
the campus, slightly back and at the east end of the old college, 
facing College Street in a direct line with Center Street. 

(2) A Natural Science Hall east of Buchtel Hall. 

(3) A Chemistry Building south of Science Hall in direct line 
with the Gymnasium. 

(4) Library, Chapel, and Administration Offices west of 
Buchtel Hall in a line with Science Hall. 

(5) Women's Dormitories or Cottages facing Carroll Street. 

(6) Preparatory School on the foundations west of the 
Gymnasium. 

(7) Isolated Heating Plant. 
Temporarily the arrangements were: 

( I ) One main building, containing administrative offices, De- 
partments of Modern Languages and English Literature — first 
floor; Departments of Ancient Languages, Mathematics, Oratory, 
Natural Sciences — second floor; Physics Laboratory in basement. 

(2) Chemical Laboratories in basement of Gymnasium. 
Chapel and Library in main room of Gymnasium. Preparatory 
Classes in smaller rooms of Gymnasium. Art Department in 
upper rooms of Gymnasium. Music Department off the campus. 

A building committee was appointed, consisting of trustees 
George W. Crouse, A. B. Church, and W. L. Carlton, and 
faculty members Knight and Orth. This committee was 
authorized "to employ the architect, let contracts, and do all 
other things on behalf of the Board necessary to erect and 
equip a Recitation Hall; also to have a competition of archi- 
tects for plans of one new building and the general 
arrangement." 



PRESIDENT PRIEST'S ADMINISTRATION 99 

Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus architects responded to 
the invitation, but no plans were entirely satisfactory. F. O. 
Weary was finally chosen and instructed to draw up new 
plans. These resulted in locating the main building not 
farther north than the center line of the old building, with its 
north and south axis coinciding with the most easterly end of 
that building. This building, known as Buchtel Hall, is a 
fireproof structure 1 05 feet long and 60 feet wide. Its 
architecture is pure Greek, the materials pink Roman pressed- 
brick with entrance trimmings and window-frames of white 
terra-cotta. A broad flight of marble steps leads to the first 
floor, which is high enough to leave the basement story almost 
entirely above ground. In the center of this floor is an open 
court extending to a skylight at the top of the building. A 
beautiful stained-glass window surmounts the broad double 
stairway leading to the second floor. There are four large 
recitation rooms, with a professor's private office connected with 
each, on the first and second floors respectively. 

In June, 1900, Professors O. E. Olin and S. P. Orth 
were appointed a committee to prepare preliminary plans for 
a Preparatory Building. The building and executive com- 
mittees elected Herbert Briggs, of Cleveland, architect, and 
in July the contract was awarded to Griffin and Briggs, of 
Cleveland. "The Academy," as it was then named, was a 
three-story building designed for the use of the preparatory 
and normal schools and the art school. On the ground floor 
were the physical laboratories and the separate lockers and 
toilet rooms for the students. On the second floor were the 
administration offices and the main recitation rooms, on the 
third floor the large art room and an assembly room. In 
1914, at the discontinuance of Buchtel Academy, the build- 
ing was turned over to the uses of the Engineering College. 
In August, 1900, the contract for the heating plant was 



100 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

awarded to H. Caine and Company and construction wai 
begun. 

The year 1900-1 opened with a gratifying attendance, the 
largest in five years. Early in the year the cornerstone ol 
Buchtel Hall was laid, and, later, the cornerstone of the old 
building, which Horace Greeley had laid in 1871, was set in 
the east wall of its vestibule entrance, where it may be seen 
as a historic relic today. 

The year 1899-1900 had seen the complete victory of the 
elective system. Heretofore, the student was required to fol- 
low one of three courses up to the second terms of the sopho- 
more year. Under the new system he was permitted to elect, 
after his freshman year, in any course. A number of other 
innovations followed: in 1900-1 the semester plan was 
adopted, giving the student an opportunity to elect more care- 
fully and distributing the vacation periods more evenly; a 
lecture course for the students was conducted successfully 
from 1899 to 1901 ; the preparatory course was strengthened 
materially; the Greek course was lengthened to two years; 
systematic work in gymnasium drill was begun; the art de- 
partment was discontinued for lack of room; a card catalog 
of the library and the appointment of a librarian were ac- 
complished; finally, the alumni reported that their Association 
was now a regularly incorporated body and wished repre- 
sentation on the Board of Trustees. The request was granted 
after a conference with a committee from the Universalist 
Convention. The year closed with the impressive dedication 
of the two new buildings on Commencement Day. 

On June 25, Doctor Ira Priest resigned the presidency of 
the College to enter business life in Akron, and the Reverend 
A. B. Church, pastor of the Universalist Church, was chosen 
as his successor. 

Probably no period of Buchtel history was so full of criti- 
cal situations as the time covered by the administrations of 



PRESIDENT PRIEST'S ADMINISTRATION 101 

Doctor Knight and Doctor Priest. The original impetus 
given the institution by its founders had lost much of its former 
force through the death of John R. Buchtel. Denominational 
support was insufficient to meet the annual college budget, 
and student numbers were decreasing. It was indeed difficult 
to find a successor to Doctor Cone who should lead the way 
out of the wilderness of troubles which seemed to be closing 
in upon the institution. The fire of 1899 appeared to many 
as the death blow for the high hopes and great expectations 
of a quarter of a century. That the College rallied at all from 
this blow was a convincing testimonial of its essential useful- 
ness to the community. Had some outstanding leadership de- 
veloped during those dark days, Buchtel might have continued 
indefinitely as a private denominational institution, for the 
sympathetic appeal of the great calamity offered an unpar- 
alleled opportunity for the raising of an ample endowment 
fund. Indeed, it may well be true that the discontinuance of 
Buchtel College as a private institution finds its first cause in 
events which happened fifteen years before the actual estab- 
lishment of the Municipal University. While lack of support 
from outside sources remained a disappointing feature of the 
years 1900 and 1901, it is equally true that the local situa- 
tion showed but little improvement. Akron, be it frankly said, 
was not yet awake to the value of the institution in its midst. 
So long as Buchtel remained an object for support from private 
sources alone, the city refused to consider seriously its own 
responsibility in the matter. Worst of all, an antagonistic 
feeling had grown up in some quarters — a disposition to dis- 
parage the local institution, which reacted unfavorably on the 
attendance. Whether a more vigorous and sustained effort 
after the fire on the part of all interested in the welfare of the 
institution, to secure ample endowment and equipment, would 
have resulted in the hoped for regeneration, remains a matter 



102 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

for question. The fact, however, is apparent that Buchtel 
after the fire was in no better condition than Buchtel before 
the fire, except perhaps for the fact that the way had been 
cleared for building up a modern college plant. The means, 
however, for building up this plant were lacking, and it was 
indeed a difficult situation which confronted the new presi- 
dent. Doctor A. B. Church, upon his inauguration into office. 



PRESIDENT PRIEST'S ADMINISTRATION 103 



MARCHING THROUGH BUCHTEL 

Author unknown Tune: Marching Through Georgia 

Let's sing a song together now. 

Yes, sing it loud and clear, 

Sing it with a hearty will 

And with a ringing cheer. 

Sing it as we used to sing 

Way back in Freshman year. 

While we were marching through Buchtel. 

Chorus 
Hurrah! Hurrah! Ring out the chorus free! 
Buchtel! Buchtel! Thy jolly children we! 
Cares shall be forgotten, all our sorrows flung away. 
While we are marching through Buchtel. 

Remember good old Buchtel, boys; 
We sing it here tonight; 
There's magic sound within its name 
That cheers you out of sight; 
Then sing the song we always sing 
When everything goes right 
At Old Buchtel on the hill. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
PRESIDENT CHURCH 

1901-1912 

IN 1901 there was called to the presidency of Buchtel Col- 
lege a man destined to shape the course of the institution 
to a marked degree, the Reverend Augustus B. Church. 
Doctor Church's early life and training, his charming per- 
sonality, and his wise judgment, combined to make him es- 
pecially fitted to become Buchtel's president in her hour of 
need. 

Augustus B. Church was born January 11,1 858, in the 
town of North Norwich, New York. For the first twenty- 
one years of his life his home was on a hill farm, on which 
his grandfather made the first clearing and built the first log 
cabin. During his early training in the district schools he de- 
veloped an unusual love of books, and as he was physically 
unfit to become a farmer, he was sent to the Clinton Liberal 
Institute at Fort Plain, New York, for a four-year course 
preparatory for the Universalis! ministry. Before the termina- 
tion of his course at the Institute he became convinced that a 
collegiate training should precede his theological course. On 
graduation from the Institute, therefore, he entered St. Law- 
rence University, from which he received the degree of B. A. 
in 1886. Two years later he was graduated from the Theo- 
logical School. 

After a pastorate of two years in South Berwick, Maine, 
Doctor Church accepted a call to the First Universalist Church 
of North Adams, Massachusetts, and began his work there in 
September, 1890. During his stay in North Adams he 
strengthened a weakened parish, disposed of an old church 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 105 

property whose title had been in Htigation for eight years, 
built a new church building in a more desirable location, gave 
the church a public standing, and made its influence felt in 
the community. In addition he revived a mission church at 
Cheshire, was district superintendent of the churches in western 
Massachusetts under appointment of the General Convention, 
and served on the city school board with the office of secretary. 
In July, 1897, he received a unanimous call to the First Uni- 
versalist Church of Akron. 

Doctor Church's work in the ministry was most successful. 
This was especially noticeable during his pastorate in Akron, 
where his genial personality, his sterling manhood, and his 
earnest public spirit went far to bridge the chasm which had 
been long wont to exist between Orthodox and Liberal. As 
a part of his work in the ministry he ever identified himself 
with the work of the Associated Charities, and represented 
the city of North Adams, the city of Akron, and the state of 
Ohio at the meetings of the National Conference of Charities 
and Corrections. 

From his first coming to Akron in 1897, Doctor Church 
was identified with Buchtel College. During President 
Priest's administration he was instructor in mental and moral 
philosophy, and he served continuously on the Board of 
Trustees from 1898 to his death in 1912. In the summer 
of 1901 he was made acting-president of the College, and 
permanent president the following March. Buchtel College 
conferred upon him the degree of A. M. in 1899; St. Law- 
rence University, the degree of D. D. in 1901 ; and Tufts 
College, the degree of LL. D. in 1905. 

In 1889 Doctor Church was married to Anne Atwood, 
daughter of the Reverend I. M. Atwood, then president of 
the Theological School of St. Lawrence University; they had 
four children, Evelyn, John, Harold and Dorothy. Mrs. 
Church took an active interest in the work of her husband. 



106 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

and the presence of four very real children robbed the par- 
sonage and later the president's house of much of the formality 
which is wont to surround those places. 

Of Doctor Church's personality and its bearing on his 
work as president, too much cannot be said. Primarily he 
was an approachable man. His very appearance gave 
promise of his geniality. His hair had early turned to white, 
while his remarkable dark, expressive eyes, shaded by shaggy 
brows, attracted all who met him. In his association with 
everyone there was a charming informality of manner which 
put all at ease at once. A common saying among the students 
of his time was, "Prexy's door is always open." Many a 
homesick boy or girl sought refuge in the president's office and 
came away comforted. Many a student smarting under a 
fancied injustice left with the sting laughed away, for one of 
Doctor Church's chief assets was a saving sense of humor. 
Many a student laboring under a load of financial or other 
trouble came away with a lighter heart. In fact, students 
hunted for an excuse to drop in at that open door and talk 
with the president, because they liked to do it and because 
they were always made to feel so welcome. As a prominent 
fellow-citizen said of Doctor Church, "He kept ever before 
him the old-fashioned standard that a liberal education is to 
make men and women and not intellectual machines." 

Doctor Church was patient to a marked degree, and yet 
not to the extent of being wavering, for there was a firmness 
about him which resisted everything. Many can recall in- 
stances when his righteous indignation blazed forth. And woe 
to the erring student or organization that provoked it ! 

Doctor Church had faith in the College, in the denomination 
which founded it, in the purpose for which it was established, 
and in the place which it came to fill in the city in which it 
was located. Nothing could induce him to take any step 
which would in any way lower its standard or impair its use- 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 107 

fulness, no matter what influence was brought to bear. The 
fact that Buchtel has maintained a scholastic standard remark- 
able in so small an institution, is in no small measure due to 
Doctor Church's firmness and perseverance. 

Perhaps the greatest asset of Doctor Church as president 
of Buchtel College was his public spirit. From his arrival in 
1897 Akron became his city. Its problems were his problems 
and its interests his interests. He served gladly on committees 
for public betterment; he fought hard in every campaign for 
civic improvement. It is a significant fact that his death was 
probably due to exposure brought on by service to his city, 
his college, and his church. He had been working hard in a 
campaign to secure an armory for Akron, an object realized 
soon after his death. While his vitality was lowered by this 
effort, he attended a football game on a stormy Saturday, 
catching a severe cold. Nevertheless he felt it incumbent 
upon him to speak at the rededication of a church in the 
southern part of the state, and thus contracted the pneumonia 
which caused his death. 

This keen public spirit of Doctor Church was a most op- 
portune asset for the College. None better than he could 
have bridged that gulf which so often exists between college 
and city. The establishment of the University of Akron with 
Buchtel College as its center, shortly after his death, was in 
no small degree made possible of accomplishment by reason 
of the excellent work that he had done in popularizing Buch- 
tel College with the citizens of Akron. As Dean Spanton 
said in his address at the memorial service in honor of Presi- 
dent Church held in Crouse Gymnasium three days after his 
death : 

"What Doctor Church has accomplished here is seen in the 
larger and better Buchtel of today, larger and better in every 
way than when he came to his office; in the scores of students 
who have been stimulated to nobler living by contact with his 
earnest personality; and in the newer and still greater Buchtel 



108 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

that is to be — the Buchtel which, whenever it shall come, will 
be built, in no small degree, on the foundation deep and broad 
and strong laid by the patience and fidelity of Doctor Church." 

The relations of Doctor Church with the teaching force 
at Buchtel were most happy. A member of the faculty once 
said that he had never known a college president who treated 
his faculty with such kindness, sympathy, patience, and appre- 
ciation as did Doctor Church, and the men and women whose 
privilege it was to teach at Buchtel during the eleven years 
of his administration will vouch for the truth of the statement. 
Another member of the faculty has spoken of him thus: 

"President Church endeared himself still further to the faculty 
by his high educational standards for Buchtel College. While 
recognizing the need and the value of athletics and social diver- 
sions in college life, he ever insisted that the fundamental business 
of the student is study, and the true measure of the worth of a 
college is the efficiency of its graduates in terms of ability, char- 
acter, and social service." 

As expressive of the high esteem in which Doctor Church 
was held in the city, we quote from an editorial in The Akron 
Times of November 18, 1913, by Judge C. R. Grant: 

"In the death of Dr. A. B. Church, not only this community, 
but mankind, has experienced a real loss. We who knew him, 
knew in him an accomplished scholar, a public-spirited citizen, a 
pure-minded patriot, an upright and trustworthy man. Dr. 
Church was an unassuming man, a plain man, not only of the 
people but for the people. That is, he was for the people in the 
same sense he was of them — he was of them in sympathy and 
for them in helpfulness. Like every other true man of the people, 
he always put his cause forward even to the overshadowing of 
his personality. In his contemplation, the office of a liberal edu- 
cation was of the old-fashioned sort — to make men, and not ma- 
chines; gentlemen, and not apothecaries — at least not primarily. 
The impulse and the ultimate of college equipping and discipline 
in his view were three-fold — the acquisition of knowledge, the 
taking on of culture, the formation of character, each of these 
ranking above the other in the order named. The tendency of 
this conception is to call out the whole man. And what calling 
in life is nobler or more useful? And as it is transfigured in use- 
fulness, what more nearly divine?" 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 109 

At the time of Doctor Church's assuming the presidency 
of Buchtel College in 1901, the new buildings had not been 
long completed. After the fire in 1899 it had been decided 
that the wiser plan was not to center all activities in one large 
building as before, but to undertake the more modern group- 
plan. Three new buildings had been erected: Buchtel Hall, 
the Academy, and another building housing the heating plant. 
Buchtel Hall contained the majority of the classrooms, as well 
as the library and the administrative offices. The chemistry 
department was placed in the basement of Crouse Gymnasium. 
There being no dormitories, out-of-town students roomed in 
private houses throughout the city. During Doctor Church's 
term of office as president, and in consequence of his unceas- 
ing efforts, two much-needed buildings were added to the 
group, Curtis Cottage and The Knight Chemical Laboratory. 

Although Akron did not as yet face the rooming condi- 
tions it afterward knew, nevertheless it already had become 
apparent that the first need of the College in the way of new 
buildings was a girls' dormitory. Early in 1904, money for 
this building was secured, largely through a generous gift from 
Mr. Pitt Curtis of Wadsworth, Ohio. Curtis Cottage was 
therefore erected — a remarkably well-adapted little building 
at the time, containing parlor, dining-room, and kitchen below 
stairs, and nine students' rooms on the two upper floors, be- 
sides suitable rooms for the women's fraternities. Ground 
was broken on Commencement Day, 1 904, and the following 
January the building was ready for occupancy. The build- 
ing was formally opened with a reception to the people of 
Akron on Founder's Day, 1905. 

In April, 1905, Mr. Andrew Carnegie offered $25,000 to 
the College for the purpose of erecting a science hall, with 
the proviso that the College raise an equal amount. This gift 
was made by Mr. Carnegie only after a thorough investiga- 
tion of the College which lasted for six weeks. His decision 



no FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

was communicated to Doctor Church during the Easter re- 
cess, and was announced to the students at the first chapel 
meeting after their return. 

This announcement, coming unexpectedly to the students, 
was met with great enthusiasm. A half holiday was granted. 
The celebration lasted far into the night, having as a fitting 
climax a huge bonfire on the campus. As typical of Doctor 
Church, it must be mentioned that after the boys had torn 
up almost all the board sidewalk on that end of Carroll Street 
and had pilfered much of the lumber from the remains of 
the "Old Shoe" then being torn down, and although they had 
done everything in as quiet a way as possible so as not to be 
caught. Doctor Church appeared on the scene just long enough 
to proffer the gift of ten gallons of gasoline from his cellar. 
Needless to say, the gift was accepted. Great was the con- 
flagration, great the enthusiasm, and great the gratitude in the 
hearts of Buchtel students for Mr. Carnegie as the flames 
mounted heavenward. As a matter of fact, some little trouble 
resulted with property owners because of the damage to the 
sidewalk, but the boys genially purchased lumber to repair 
the damage, the college janitor supplied the labor, and every- 
thing ended happily. 

The additional $25,000, however, came much more slowly 
than was anticipated. Much credit was due Doctor Church 
for his persistent efforts to obtain it. Those who have known 
Akron of a later time and have seen such successful campaigns 
for all kinds of war activities and for civic betterment, can 
scarcely conceive of the untiring labor necessary to secure 
this sum, which seems now so small. The Buchtelite of 
October. 1905, stated that $3,964 has then been raised. By 
February, 1 906, one-half the amount had been secured, but 
it was not until two years later that the whole amount was 
obtained. On Commencement Day, 1 908, ground was finally 
broken for the science hall, and one year from that time the 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 111 

building was finished and ready for inspection. In appre- 
ciation of the splendid service rendered to Buchtel College by 
Doctor Charles M. Knight, this new building was called The 
Knight Chemical Laboratory. 

During the early part of Doctor Church's administration 
the athletic equipment was far from encouraging. The ath- 
letic field was in poor condition. The grandstand burned down 
and was not replaced, and only very few bleachers were left 
for the accommodation of spectators. The fence gradually 
crumbled and decayed and finally had to be removed, making 
the field itself a thoroughfare for wandering delivery carts, 
a condition which soon rendered the grounds unfit for ath- 
letic contests. The lack of a fence and of suitable seating 
facilities also greatly impaired the financial side of the sports. 
Nolan's Park and League Park were used for athletic events, 
but because of their great distance from the gymnasium both 
were exceedingly inconvenient. 

In the spring of 1912 a group of Akron business men do- 
nated money enough to thoroughly equip Buchtel Field, pro- 
vided the students themselves would put up the fence. 
Lumber was at hand and a holiday (?) set aside for erecting 
the fence. The student carpenters finished the job in two 
and one-half hours and then repaired to Crouse Gymnasium, 
where the girls of the Woman's League had prepared for 
them a bountiful "feed." The grounds were then put in first- 
class condition, and since that time Buchtel has had an ath- 
letic field to compare favorably with those of other institutions. 
More investments were made in the way of athletic equipment 
during the next year, and George W. Crouse donated a suffi- 
cient sum of money to repair and equip Crouse Gymnasium. 

For several years during the early part of the new century 
the College staggered under the financial blow dealt by the 
fire. Money came slowly, in spite of unceasing efforts on 
the part of trustees and president. It is hard for us to appre- 



112 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

date the dogged persistence with which it was necessary for 
Doctor Church and his colleagues to fight the financial battle 
of Old Buchtel. Denominational sources had begun to 
diminish, and Akron wealth had not yet reached its present 
proportions. Soon after assuming the presidency it became 
apparent to Doctor Church that some consistent effort must 
soon be made to increase Buchtel's endowment fund. During 
the greater part of the time he was president he had been work- 
ing toward this end. But it was not until 1910 that the situa- 
tion became critical. 

For years — ever since its organization, in fact — Buchtel 
College had been a member of the Ohio College Association. 
In the year 1910, however, an attempt was made to stand- 
ardize the colleges of the state. A standard was set, one of 
the requirements of which was that every institution belonging 
to this association must have an endowment of at least 
$200,000. Buchtel could meet every other requirement of 
the standardization, for her scholastic standard has ever been 
high. Her endowment, however, was at that time just 
$100,000, one-half the required sum. A few other institu- 
tions of the state faced the same situation. These colleges 
were therefore put on a one-year probation in the association, 
with the expectation that during the year they would do their 
utmost to raise their endowment to the required amount. To 
this end the trustees of the College decided to put on a cam- 
paign for the raising of additional money. At a mass meet- 
ing of Akron citizens, called by a joint committee of college 
and alumni, the needs of Buchtel College were laid before 
the public. 

The week of November 23 to December 3, 1910, was set 
aside as campaign week. The local papers had previously 
lent their assistance. The Akron Times, with Edward S. 
Harter as editor, had turned over its paper for one day to the 
students. All had entered the work with enthusiasm, and 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 113 

Saturday, May 7, 1910, The Times was Buchtel's paper. 
Fred Read was managing editor. On the staff were A, E. 
Hardgrove, Laurine Wanamaker, Marjorie Means, and 
Walker Buel, now Washington Correspondent for The Cleve- 
land Plain Dealer. Harold Wells as cartoonist adorned the 
front page with a representation of Buchtel College, as the 
keystone of Greater Akron, being lifted to place by Doctor 
Church. Helen Hackett and Helen Townsend edited a spicy 
"Wise and Otherwise" column. Fred Theiss, Joseph Hanan, 
and Elvah Grafton were other members of the staff, while 
James Cruickshank, Walter Risch, and Leo Jackson had 
charge of the sporting page. 

Sixteen committees were at work, having as their head- 
quarters the Windsor Hotel. On the last day of the cam- 
paign the students helped in a house-to-house canvass, laying 
the needs of the College before the whole city, and taking 
small subscriptions. At the end of the week, $86,000 had 
been pledged, the number of subscriptions amounting to seven- 
teen hundred. This fund finally reached $98,000, and Buch- 
tel was allowed to retain its membership in the Ohio College 
Association. The success of the campaign, however, was not 
entirely financial. Never before had the people of Akron 
been made to realize the value of this little college placed in 
their midst, or to appreciate their own responsibility for its 
support. 

During Doctor Church's administration funds were col- 
lected for the College amounting to $188,618. 

As stated before, as soon as made president. Doctor Church 
studied conditions and attempted in every way possible to 
make Buchtel College of the highest service to Akron and 
vicinity. At one time he added a commercial school. This 
not proving practicable, on account of the existence of two 
very good commercial schools in the city, it was soon discon- 
tinued. A brief normal course was added to the Academy 



114 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

curriculum to equip township teachers. This, too, was soon 
found to be unnecessary on account of the service rendered 
by the Perkins Normal School. Musical instruction was given 
through the Buchtel School of Music, and this school for a 
long time administered to the wants of Akron people in a very 
efficient way. Lessons in piano, voice, violin, and organ were 
given. 

The college curriculum was also enriched by the addition 
of courses outlined to meet the needs of Akron's industrial 
plants. Chief of these was the course in Rubber Chemistry, 
instituted by Doctor Knight in 1909, a course which still 
flourishes at the University, and which is unique in American 
colleges. The development of the work in physical training 
and athletics during Doctor Church's administration is fully 
recounted elsewhere in this History, in the chapter. Fifty Years 
of Athletics, and need not be repeated here. 

Several student organizations were established during this 
period. In 1906 was founded the Woman's League, an 
organization composed of college women, women of the fac- 
ulty, and wives of the faculty. Amy Saunders was its first 
president. This organization is still doing good work at the 
University. A women's fraternity known as Theta Sigma 
Chi was started in 1908. This sorority afterward adopted 
the national charter of Phi Mu, and is still flourishing. An- 
other fraternity which had its beginning at this time is the 
honor fraternity of Phi Sigma Alpha. This was started by 
the class of 1910. Its membership consists of the members of 
the class of 1910, the three honor students of each graduating 
class, and all members of the faculty who have been elected 
to honor societies. In the latter part of Doctor Church's ad- 
ministration a college band was organized, which filled a much- 
felt want at Buchtel, adding spirit to the athletic contests and 
much vim to other college events. A glee-club existed spas- 
modically during this period, but this form of college activity 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 115 

ever had its ups and downs at Old Buchtel. One or two 
glee-clubs achieved the honor of being asked to repeat their 
home concert at Tallmadge, but their seasons were always 
short. During the whole twelve years the Dramatic Club 
was more or less active. During the latter half of the period, 
however, dramatics received an added impetus, and much ex- 
cellent work was done. The first annual outdoor play was 
given in 1912, and was so successful that it has continued 
to be a Commencement event. 

A very pleasant custom which had its origin in this period 
was the observance of an annual Tree Day. The custom 
was introduced by Doctor Church himself from his Alma 
Mater, St. Lawrence University, where Tree Day had been 
observed ever since 1869. Begun with the practical aim of 
adorning the college grounds with trees, it later had become an 
elaborate spring festival. The first Tree Day programs at 
Buchtel consisted of "stunts" presented by the different classes 
about their trees, songs and athletic events appropriate to the 
day, and a college banquet in the evening, where class and 
college spirit ran rampant. The custom of crowning the May 
Queen was added later. With slight variation this is still the 
program for Tree Day. Long may it exist, a most delightful 
college holiday ! 

Commencement reunions were held during this period at 
various times. On all these occasions the genial hospitality of 
Doctor and Mrs. Church won the warm approval of visiting 
friends of the College. One of the most pleasant and success- 
ful of the reunions was held in June, 1909, the crowning 
event of which was the General Reunion and housewarming 
celebrating the completion of the Knight Chemical Labora- 
tory. This event was held on the evening of Commencement 
Day and was largely attended. Of course Doctor Knight 
was present, both as host and as the honored guest of the 
occasion. After his long years of service on the faculty, this 



116 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

day, with its promise of the future and kindly reminder of 
the past, was to him and to all one of the happiest of events. 
The event closed with old English dances on the campus, after 
which all attended the annual alumni banquet, which proved 
to be a most successful ending of an eventful day. 

During the presidency of Doctor Church Buchtel had an 
excellent faculty. Some of these teachers are treated at length 
elsewhere in this volume. It is the purpose here to mention 
them but briefly. In 1902 Professor Bates, because of ill 
health, was compelled to give up active teaching, and Doctor 
Rockwell was chosen as his successor in the department of 
ancient languages. This position Doctor Rockwell still holds; 
from the first he has conducted his department in the manner 
of an earnest educator and a thorough scholar. 

The department of natural science was conducted prac- 
tically the entire time by Professor Charles Brookover, a man 
scholarly, active, with untiring devotion to research, and one 
who came to be an acknowledged authority in his work. 
Many a young man has received an impetus for the study of 
medicine from the inspiration of this great teacher. Doctor 
Brookover later was with the University of Louisville, Louis- 
ville, Kentucky. 

Until 1905 Professor Parsons directed the department of 
English. Rather she Was the department of English, and her 
wise judgment and friendly interest served as a check or an 
inspiration to the too eager or too timid aspirant for literary 
honors. After her resignation in 1905 Professor A. I. Spanton 
was called to the chair, a position he still holds in addition 
to his work as dean of Buchtel College. 

Doctor Carl F. Kolbe held the professorship of modern 
languages. Fortunate were the students of this period to have 
the opportunity of studying under this man. His added years 
in no wise impaired the vigor of his teaching, and he gave to 
the study of German a life and a loving appreciation which 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 117 

few can impart. On his death in 1905 he was succeeded in 
the professorship by his son. Professor Parke R. Kolbe, later 
the successor of Doctor Church in the presidency. That the 
son has proved himself a worthy descendant of so excellent a 
father, it remains for future historians to tell, for his story is 
not chiefly the story of Buchtel College, but of the University 
of Akron. 

Doctor Knight, loved and honored by students of more 
than thirty years, directed the department of chemistry during 
this time. Professor Simmons, who now holds the chair, com- 
ing as an instructor in 1910. 

Other teachers who might be mentioned for unusual ability 
and service to the College were. Doctor Paul Biefeld, for 
several years head of the department of mathematics; Pro- 
fessor O. E. Olin of the department of economics, a great 
favorite with the students; and Mr. C. R. Olin, the faithful 
and self-effacing secretary of the College. Both Professor 
Olin and Secretary Olin are still in the service of the 
University. 

In the number of students attending the institution, we note 
a gradual increase during Doctor Church's administration. In 
the fall of 1903 there were sixty students in the college de- 
partment at Buchtel, thirty men and thirty women; in 1913, 
when the College was taken over by the city, there were one 
hundred and seventy-five. 

The real history of this or of any other time, however, is 
not here recorded, nor will it ever be recorded, for it cannot 
be put into words. It is written in the hearts of the students, 
finds expression in their lives, and will continue to be recorded 
as long as one of them shall live. Buchtel College is not 
brick and mortar, neither is it endowment, or library, or equip- 
ment, or even faculty, though these are part of her; Buchtel 
College is the spirit which binds these all together and lives on 



118 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

eternally in the hearts of the students whom she fostered and 
who think of her with tender affection. 



PRESIDENT CHURCH'S ADMINISTRATION 119 



OUR BUCHTEL 

Written by Alton Thomas, '02 Tune: The Old Oaken Bucket 

Ah, what can compare with the life spent at college. 

When living the time of our happiest days. 

When pleasure's most charmingly mingled with knowledge. 

And the time has not come for the parting of ways? 

Where else but at Buchtel would one rather be 

For wisdom, for pleasure, for study, for joy? 

No spot on the earth can more joy bring to me 

Than here where's unfolded the man from the boy. 

At Buchtel the man is but half of the story. 

Just half, even half, no more and no less; 

The maiden by right claims her half of the glory. 

Deserves it and has it, each man will confess. 

For Buchtel most fairly has co-education; 

She knows that together — not striving alone — 

Her sons with her daughters will strengthen the nation. 

And do the world's labor from zone unto zone. 

O Buchtel, our Buchtel, press on, ever bearing 
The same work of usefulness, year after year. 
While new foster-children take pleasure in sharing 
The work and the joy which prolong your career. 
Go on and be stronger in wealth of affection. 
In long lists of graduates, eager to tell 
The joy that they feel in the mere recollection 
Of days that they loved so sincerely, so well. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
PRESIDENT KOLBE 

1913- 

BUCHTEL COLLEGE BECOMES THE MUNICIPAL 
UNIVERSITY OF AKRON 

THE sudden death of President Church found Buchtel 
College at one of the most critical hours of her entire 
history. The very existence of the institution was 
threatened. President Church had literally laid down his 
life for the College, giving his time and strength without stint 
in an heroic effort to secure such financial support as would 
put the College on a stable foundation. His failure to realize 
his hopes was through no fault of his own. All that man 
could do he had done. The blunt fact is, that Buchtel Col- 
lege had become a local rather than a denominational school, 
but that while denominational support — both in attendance 
and in money — had been steadily decreasing, the people of 
Akron had still continued to regard it as a church school, 
the responsibility for the support of which rested on the de- 
nomination that founded it and not on the city of Akron. 
The extent of the change in the student body from a denom- 
inational to a local constituency may be judged from the fact 
that while in 1883 out of a total of 314 students in college 
and preparatory departments, 120, or 38%, came from Uni- 
versalist families, in 1913 out of 180 students in the college 
department alone only sixteen, or 9%, were from Univer- 
salist families. During the same period the percentage of 
Akron students had almost doubled. It was becoming in- 
creasingly evident, therefore, that if Buchtel College was to 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 121 

continue, its support must come from the city it was serving 
and not from the religious denomination which had founded it. 

In this crisis the Board of Trustees considered with the ut- 
most care the selection of a successor to President Church. 
Their choice fell upon Doctor Parke R. Kolbe, The wisdom 
of their selection has been abundantly demonstrated in the 
events of his administration. Doctor Kolbe was peculiarly 
fitted for the task. Younger son of the beloved "elder Kolbe," 
both an Akron product and a Buchtel graduate, he was steeped 
in the Buchtel spirit, intensely loyal to the College, and in 
keen sympathy with Buchtel traditions and the undergraduate 
mind. Succeeding his father as professor of German and ro- 
mance languages in 1901 , for eleven years he had been one of 
the most popular and efficient men on the faculty, and there- 
fore came to the task of college administration with first-hand 
knowledge of the problems of the classroom and an ability 
to see things clearly from the instructor's point of view. For- 
eign travel had broadened his vision and his sympathies, and 
study in foreign universities — he received his Ph. D. (magna 
cum laude) from Heidelberg University in 1912 — had 
strengthened his scholastic interests and confirmed his belief 
that research should be one of the activities of anyone laying 
claim to the title of scholar. In addition, he brought to his 
new position an executive ability seldom found in the teacher 
and the scholar. Born in 1881, Doctor Kolbe was not quite 
32 years old when called to the presidency; undoubtedly one 
of the youngest college presidents in the country at that time. 

As soon as he took office President Kolbe recognized the 
seriousness of the financial condition of the College. De- 
nominational support had almost ceased, and the experience of 
President Church had shown clearly the futility of expecting 
ample support from private local sources. The people of 
Akron did not look upon Buchtel as peculiarly theirs, and 
citizens of large means were not as yet convinced of their 



122 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

responsibility for its growth, or even its existence. Existing 
hopes of raising large funds for the College immediately, were 
soon still further shattered by the financial depression resulting 
from the local strikes and floods of 1913. Under these con- 
ditions President Kolbe felt that the only satisfactory solu- 
tion of Buchtel's financial problem was for the city at large to 
recognize that Buchtel College was Akron's college and to 
be willing to assume the responsibility for its financial sup- 
port. He turned for guidance to the already successfully op- 
erating University of Cincinnati. He knew that Akron really 
did want a college and that it wanted Buchtel, but like so 
many noble civic enterprises, it could not be supported by 
purely voluntary contributions. The State laws offered a 
solution. It was found that a city might establish a municipal 
university and that such a university could be adequately sup- 
ported by taxation. 

After much careful planning and working. President Kolbe 
finally laid before the trustees of Buchtel College in meeting 
assembled on the 14th of April, 1913, his whole program of 
offering to the City of Akron, upon certain terms and con- 
ditions, the entire plant and endowment of Buchtel College, 
which was to become the nucleus for a municipal university. 
The plan was earnestly and carefully considered by the 
trustees, and it was finally voted unanimously to bring the 
matter to the attention of the city through its Charter Com- 
mission, which was then engaged in writing a new charter for 
the City of Akron. A resolution embodying the following 
offer was adopted: 

"To the Charter Commission of the City of Akron: 

"Gentlemen: — During its existence of more than forty years, 
Buchtel College has performed a most important work in this 
community, and it should be looked upon as an institution to be 
permanently maintained among us. As an evidence that the col- 
lege has a rightful and permanent place among our municipal 
institutions, we call attention to the fact that the attendance has 
trebled during the last decade, and that this increase is due largely 



PRESIDENT KOLBE'S ADMINISTRATION 123 

to the increased attendance of local students. Unfortunately, the 
increase in our endowment has not kept pace with the increase in 
the attendance, with the result that the present sources of income 
are insufficient to enable the college to carry on its work satis- 
factorily. 

"Therefore, we, the Board of Trustees of Buchtel College, 
representing the corporation in its corporate capacity, do offer and 
propose hereby, to transfer, turn over, and convey to the City of 
Akron, Ohio, the entire plant and endowment of Buchtel College 
and Academy on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. 
We will first pay and discharge all the present indebtedness of 
the college; and the residue set over to the city will have a value 
of about $400,000, of which about $1 50,000 will be in interest- 
producing endowment, but subject to a few small annuities not 
exceeding the sum of $1,845.65 per year, payable to certain 
donors during their lives, and further subject to the granting of 
certain free scholarship privileges as requested by the original 
donors of scholarship funds or their descendants. The college is 
now and has been for some years wholly free from all denom- 
inational or sectarian control and influence, and will be so turned 
over to the City of Akron. 

"This offer is conditioned as follows: 

"1. That the City of Akron will devote perpetually the 
plant and funds thus turned over to it, to the uses of a municipal 
college or university, to be called the College (or University) of 
the City of Akron, with the provision that in case of the develop- 
ment of several colleges, schools, or departments, the department 
of Liberal Arts shall retain the name of 'Buchtel College of 
Liberal Arts,' thus forming a department of a university in the 
same manner as Adelbert College forms a part of Western Re- 
serve University, or as McMicken College forms a part of the 
University of Cincinnati. 

"2. That the endowment fund turned over to the city shall 
be maintained as an endowment and not diverted from that pur- 
pose, and that only the income thereof shall be used for the sup- 
port of the college or university. 

"3. That if a Charter be adopted for the City of Akron, it 
will provide in adequate terms for the maintenance of the college 
or university. The present laws on the subject relating to munic- 
ipal colleges and universities as provided in sections 7902 to 7922 
of the General Code (as already successfully embodied and car- 
ried out by the University of Cincinnati) will be deemed adequate. 

"4. The charter of the City shall provide for the government 
of the institution by a separate Board of Trustees to be chosen 
and perpetuated under city control in a manner to be determined 
by you, with a provision, however, that fitting representation on 
the Board of Trustees be assured to the present organization of 
the Alumni of the College. 



124 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"It may not be amiss to direct your attention to the following 
matters in the consideration of the foregoing proposition: 

"1. As a municipal institution, and with very shght addition 
to the money which the city now expends for educational pur- 
poses, the college or university would offer to all qualified students 
of the City of Akron a college education with free tuition. 

"2. The adoption of Buchtel College as a municipal insti- 
tution will insure, on a permanent basis, the continuance of one 
of Akron's oldest and worthiest semi-public institutions. 

"3. The identification of college with city interests can be 
turned directly to practical use for the city. A bureau of city 
tests for the examination of all materials used by the city ; a bureau 
of municipal reference for collecting and filing information re- 
quired by municipal officers — these and many other functions can 
be estabhshed and exercised by a municipal institution at great 
saving to the city. 

"4. The natural growth of the city will soon inevitably de- 
mand a school where her young people can be trained at small 
expense in technical branches and in the learned professions — the 
establishment of a municipal college or university upon the foun- 
dation of an already tested and recognized institution will provide 
a most excellent beginning for the development of a greater mu- 
nicipal university. 

"The matter of the formation and adoption of a municipal 
charter being now before the people, we earnestly urge a serious 
consideration of this offer. We make it in the full belief that 
this very favorable opportunity for the foundation of a municipal 
university should not be neglected." 

The Charter Commission looked with favor upon the 
splendid offer of the Buchtel trustees, but questioned the 
wisdom of incorporating the offer and the legislation necessary 
to carry out its acceptance into the new charter. They there- 
fore referred the matter with favorable recommendation to the 
City Council. The wisdom of their action was soon justified, 
for the new charter, when submitted to a vote of the people, 
was defeated by a small margin. 

Though not desiring to trouble the reader with too many 
details concerning the manner of the establishment of the 
Municipal University of Akron, we feel that we must say, in 
justice to the splendid body of men who gave of their time 
and ability so unstintingly in drafting the new charter which 
was rejected by the voters, that they did not stop in their 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 123 

interest in and efforts for the establishment of the University 
by passing the matter on to the City Council. On the con- 
trary, they appointed a committee of six representative citizens 
to consider and report on certain vital questions which must 
be answered satisfactorily to convince the people that it 
would be wise to undertake the establishment of the Univer- 
sity. This committee consisted of James Shaw, Chairman 
Finance Committee of the City Council; Albert C. Esch, 
Socialist member of City Council ; James McCausland, City 
Auditor; J. Edward Good, President Akron Chamber of 
Commerce ; John C. Moore, County Auditor ; Ed. S. Shatzer, 
member Central Labor Union. 

The report of the committee is both interesting and enlighten- 
ing, for it condenses many of the most weighty arguments for 
the establishment of the Municipal University — arguments 
which, in the campaign of education which followed, won the 
people and their representatives over to the proposed plan. 
The report is therefore quoted in full. 

**To the Akron Charter Commission: 

"Gentlemen : — In your letter of May 22d to Mr. James Shaw, 
chairman of the Finance Committee of the City Council, you 
stated that, by resolution, you had authorized the appointment of 
a committee of six citizens to investigate and report on certain 
questions relating to the establishment and maintenance of a 
municipal university. The following are the questions: 

"1. Can the proposed levy for the municipal university be 
incorporated in the tax duplicate under the present tax laws (be- 
ginning in 1914) without taking needed funds from the city 
departments or the Board of Education? 

"2. Is the expense of maintaining a municipal university 
Hkely to prove a burden to the city in coming years? 

**3. What will be the maximum cost to the taxpayer of main- 
taining a city university? 

"4. What advantages can the city hope to receive from a 
municipal university in the matter of co-operation with the city 
departments ? 

"After mature and careful investigation and deliberation, we 
are pleased to report to you as follows : 

" I . There is a state law which permits a levy of fifty-five 
one-hundredths of a mill for municipal university purposes only. 



126 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Money thus raised cannot be used for any other purposes. There- 
fore, the proposed levy can be incorporated, 

"2. We believe that money expended for education is the 
best investment w^hich any community can make — therefore should 
not be considered a burden. 

"3. 1 he maximum cost to the taxpayer of maintaining a city 
university cannot exceed fifty-five one-hundredths of a mill — 
which means fifty-five cents for a thousand dollars appraised 
property valuation. 

"4. The advantages which a city can hope to derive from 
a municipal university are almost unlimited. Based on the expe- 
rience of the University of Cincinnati, we cite a few advantages 
as follows: 

"a. The University professors do all the chemical and mic- 
roscopic work for the City Hospital, having charge of its 
laboratory. 

"b. Ihe University does all the analyzing and testing for 
the Engineering, the Purchasing, and other departments of the 
city. 

"c. The University co-operates with the City Engineer's De- 
partment. The students serve there as assistants under the co- 
operative system, working part of the time on city work and 
studying part of the time at the University. 

"d. The professors in the Engineering College serve as ex- 
perts in connection with Water Works problems. Street Car 
problems, and Telephone problems. The Dean of the College 
was recently appointed chairman of the Board of Arbitration 
between the Street Car men and the Company. 

"e. The Academic Department trains new teachers for the 
city schools and gives classes afternoons and Saturdays for the 
present teachers. In six years the University has supplied 1 89 
new teachers and taught 643 old ones. The Faculty of the 
Teachers* College acts as an expert Board of Advisors for the 
Board of Education whenever called upon. 

"f. The Department of Psychology spends much time in 
testing backward and defective pupils in the City Public Schools. 
This has led to the establishment of a small special school for 
defectives — a kind of educational hospital — which does splendid 
work in saving children from being turned down as idiots and 
incompetents. 

"g. The Department of Political Science maintains a Munic- 
ipal Reference Library, an office conducted by the University at 
the City Hall, to collect information about all sorts of municipal 
affairs and city problems and supply that information to the com- 
mittees of the council or city officials, 

"h. Other departments co-operate in matters of taxation, 
census taking, collection of historical information, civil service 
examinations, etc. 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 127 

"As a result of our investigation, extending over two months* 
time, we unanimously recommend that the Akron City Council 
be requested to accept Buchtel College as the nucleus for a 
Municipal University, for the benefit of Akron, or provide for 
submitting the question of accepting this offer to the electors of the 
City of Akron. 

"James Shaw, Chairman. 
Albert C. Esch, 
James McCausland, 
J. Edward Good, 
John C. Moore, 
Ed. S. Shatzer." 

The Council, thinking that so important a matter should be 
decided, not by themselves, but by the entire body of Akron's 
citizens, passed an ordinance providing that the question, 
"Shall Buchtel College be accepted by the City of Akron?" 
be submitted to the vote of all qualified electors of the city at 
the regular primary election in September. This ordinance, 
however, was declared by the Secretary of State to be illegal, 
and the Council now found itself face to face with the de- 
cision of either accepting or rejecting the offer of the trustees 
of the College. At this time the Council was composed of 
the following members: President George Jackson, Council- 
men Akers, Cranz, Esch, Hower, Jeffers, Moewe, Shaw, 
Stauffer, Vance, Weld, Whittemore. At a regular meeting, 
August 25, 1913, on motion of Councilman Cranz the follow- 
ing ^ordinance, accepting the offer of the college trustees, was 
passed by unanimous vote, Councilmen Vance and Whitte- 
more being absent: 

"Ordinance No. 4050, accepting the offer of the Trustees of 
Buchtel College to transfer and convey the entire property, assets, 
and endowments of said college to the City of Akron for a 
municipal university. 

"Whereas, the Board of Trustees of Buchtel College has 
made an offer to the Council of the City of Akron to transfer, 
turn over, and convey to the City of Akron the entire property 
and plant and endov\Tnent of Buchtel College and Academy for 

*This ordinance contains the text of the new offer to the City Council authorized 
by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees on August 15, 1913. 



128 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the purposes and upon the conditions named in said offer, which 
is as follows: 

'To the City Council of the City of Akron: 

'Gentlemen: — The Board of Trustees of Buchtel College, representing 
the corporation in its corporate capacity, does hereby offer and propose to 
transfer, turn over and convey to the City of Akron, the entire property, 
plant and endowment of Buchtel College and Academy, for the purposes 
and on the conditions following, viz: 

First. That the City of Akron will devote perpetually the funds and 
plant thus turned over to it, to the uses of a municipal college or university 
to be called the College (or University) of Akron, with the understanding, 
that in case of the development of several colleges, schools or departments, 
the department of Liberal Arts shall retain the name of "Buchtel College of 
Liberal Arts. " 

"Second. That the city will provide for the maintenance and growth of 
the institution within such limits as may be provided for by law. 

'Third. That the government of the institution shall be under the con- 
trol of a separate board of trustees to be chosen and perpetuated by munici- 
pal authority in such manner as may be now or hereafter provided by law, 
with a provision, however, if the law permit, that fitting representation on 
the board of trustees be assured to the alumni. 

'A detailed schedule of the present property and assets of Buchtel College 
is herewith submitted. It will be observed that the property is subject to 
certain annuities aggregating the sum of $1,845.63 annually, as shown in 
Schedule H; and that the College has certain outstanding Scholarships as 
shown in Schedule I. All other encumbrances, and all outstanding obliga- 
tions of the College will be discharged by the present Board of Trustees 
from such of the personal property scheduled as may be first available, so 
that the net residue will come to the City free of debt and unencumbered 
save as to the annuities and scholarships aforesaid. 

"Akron, Ohio, August 20, 1913. 

'The Board of Trustees of Buchtel College, 

by Parke R. Kolbe, President.' 

"And Whereas, said Board of Trustees of Buchtel College 
has submitted with the aforesaid offer a detailed schedule of the 
property and assets of Buchtel College, and 

"Whereas, Council of the City of Akron is desirous of accept- 
ing the said offer upon the terms and conditions named therein 
for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a municipal uni- 
versity to be known by the name of the University of Akron, 
now therefore, 

"Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Akron, State 
of Ohio, two-thirds of all the members elected thereto concurring: 

"Section 1 . That the said offer of the Trustees of Buchtel 
College to transfer, turn over, and convey to the City of Akron 
the entire property, plant, and endowment of Buchtel College as 
shown by the schedule attached to and made a part of said 
offer, be and the same hereby is accepted upon the terms and 
conditions named in the said offer. 

"Section 2. That the entire property, plant, and endowment 
of Buchtel College so to be transferred and conveyed to the 
City of Akron, shall be used for the purpose of establishing and 
maintaining a municipal university. 

"Section 3. That the Mayor and Solicitor be and they are 



PRESIDENT KOLBE'S ADMINISTRATION 129 

hereby instructed to examine, approve, and receive all the neces- 
sary deeds, conveyances, and other instruments necessary to re- 
ceive and perfect the title to said property in the City of Akron 
and to do any and all other acts and things necessary and proper 
to be done in the premises. 

"Section 4. This ordinance shall be in force and take effect 
from and after the earliest period allowed by law. 

"Passed August 25, 1913. 

"Ira A. Priest, "Geo. C. Jackson, 

"Clerk of Council. "President of Council. 

"Approved August 26, 1913. 

"Frank W. Rockwell, Mayor." 

This ordinance — as well as another ordinance passed at the 
same time providing funds for the University — became effective 
on September 24, 1913, and the future of the Municipal Uni- 
versity of Akron was assured. 

In the following months the formalities of transfers of prop- 
erty and so forth were duly effected, and "Old Buchtel" was 
prepared to begin the new year — 1914 — as the Municipal 
University of Akron. 

It is fitting here to refer to the matter of appointments of 
directors for the University. The first Board — appointed by 
Mayor Rockwell — consisted of J. P. Loomis, F. A. Seiber- 
ling, Doctor M. D. Stevenson. Doctor P. R. Kolbe, W. B. 
Baldwin. F. M. Cooke, Doctor A. A. Kohler. C. C. Carlton, 
and W. A. Putt. The six last named were alumni of Buchtel. 

The appointments on this first Board — in representation of 
Buchtel alumni and in splendid ability of men selected — are 
indicative of and fairly reflect the splendid co-operation of the 
city's executives in making appointments from the first incep- 
tion of the University to the present time. 

The work of Buchtel College of Liberal Arts — the. nucleus 
of the University — went on uninterrupted, except for a revived 
and renewed interest and enthusiasm. The Preparatory 
School, of course, was abandoned. But there were organized 
almost immediately new schools which were responsive to 
existing needs. The School or College of Engineering was 



130 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

organized and developed under the able direction of Dean 
Fred E. Ayer. This department first received students at the 
beginning of the new school year in September, 1914, and 
showed an initial enrollment of thirty students. The Curtis 
School of Home Economics was opened at the same time 
with Miss Sara Stimmel as director and started with twenty- 
nine students. There was established almost immediately, 
also, a new department which is one fundamentally of co- 
operation — the department of city tests, in which are made 
all tests for the city — chemical, bacteriological and physical. 
This department was put in charge of the City Chemist, Mr. 
Arden E. Hardgrove, an alumnus of Buchtel College, who 
thus became a member of the University faculty. 

Referring again to the establishment of the Engineering 
School, it should be noted that this school was founded and 
began as a co-operative school; that is, the "Cincinnati plan" 
was adopted. This plan is described in the 1914 Prospectus : 

"It requires the practice of engineering to be learned under 
actual commercial conditions, and the science underlying this 
practice to be taught in the University by trained educators. Its 
aim is to give the student a thorough training in both the theory 
and the practice of engineering. Ihe students are grouped in 
tw^o sections, one of which is at work and the other in attendance 
at the University. Thus, during any weekly or bi-weekly period, 
one-half the students are at the University and one-half are in the 
shops. At the end of the period, those who were at the Uni- 
versity go to the shops, and those who were in the shops go to 
the University. 

"Five years of eleven months each are required to complete 
the course. Each student is allowed a vacation of one week at 
Christmas time and three weeks in the latter part of the summer. 

"While a student is at work, he is subject to all the rules and 
regulations imposed by his employer upon the other employees. 
All existing labor laws and conditions, including those pertaining 
to liability for accident, apply to the student the same as to any 
other employee." 

The City Council was quick to appreciate this new depart- 
ment of the University, for in February, 1914, it passed a 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 131 

resolution requesting the University to "investigate fully the 
present condition, cost, and durability of the pavements of the 
City of Akron, with the view of the City adopting some 
method of greater efficiency for the outlay and reduction of 
cost to the citizens." The work was undertaken by the En- 
gineering Department under the direction of Dean Ayer, and 
the account of the splendid work done by the Engineering 
School is given in the published report of the school dated 
June, 1914, and on file in the University library. 

Another excellent work of service and co-operation was 
undertaken in the school year of 1915-1916 in the offer by 
the University to the public to furnish lecturers free of charge 
from among the faculty members. A course of lectures was 
arranged as follows: 

UNIVERSITY LECTURES FOR 1915-1916 

1 . Problems of City Government. Professor O. E. Olin. 

2. One Trend of Modern Education. Dean F. E. Ayer. 

3. Uses of a Testing Laboratory in a Municipality. Mr. A. 
E. Hardgrove, City Chemist. 

4. Reading in the Home. Dean A, I. Spanton. 

5. An Historical Subject (to be chosen). Professor E. A. 
Thompson. 

6. Either of the following may be chosen: 

a. Whence and Whither. Heredity, Eugenics, and Human 
Conservation. 

b. Up from the Depths. The Evolution of Animal Forms. 
Professor A. B. Plow^man. 

These lectures were offered to any responsible organization 
which would guarantee an audience of not less than twenty- 
five people and on a few other minor conditions. Several 
organizations took advantage of this offer. 

During the next year another significant step forward was 
taken — evening courses were given and were opened to all 
persons over the age of twenty-one years, and to those under 
twenty-one who had completed the course in a first-grade high 
school. During the first year courses were offered in French, 
Spanish, German, English, economics, business law and ad- 



132 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ministration, Greek sculpture, history, biology, chemistry, 
mathematics, and engineering. The growth of this department 
both in interest and in number of students has been most 
encouraging. 

The new lines of work mentioned in preceding paragraphs 
indicate the direction the University's expansion has taken. 
Directors and president alike have had constantly in mind the 
ideal of service to the community. The University belongs 
to Akron, exists for the primary purpose of offering free to 
all Akron boys and girls the opportunity for higher education, 
and desires above all else to be readily and intelligently re- 
sponsive to the needs of the city that is supporting it so 
generously. 

The present year, 1920, is the seventh year of the official 
existence of the Municipal University. What has been ac- 
complished during the six years of its existence? Has the 
transfer of control from denomination to city been justified? 
Has the growth in student attendance, financial support, quality 
and range of work, and service to the community been such 
as to cause even those who are especially interested in the Old 
Buchtel to rejoice that the change was made? 

Let the facts speak for themselves. And the first fact to 
bear clearly in mind is that doubtless there would be no 
Buchtel College today had not President Kolbe and the 
trustees taken just the steps they did take in 1913, and had 
not the City Council accepted the offer. That step made 
certain not the growth alone, but the very existence of the 
college we love. 

What of its growth? Comparing 1913-14 with 1919-20, 
we find the attendance of day students has grown from 198 
to 508, while the total number of students in regular day and 
evening classes in 1919-20 was 1,017, and the total number 
of persons receiving instruction — including the special classes 
in Americanization and Public Health Nursing — was 1 ,250. 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 133 

The growth of the evening classes has been very gratifying, 
the total enrollment for 1919-20 reaching 509. 

That this increase in attendance is extraordinary is revealed 
in an analysis of a recent study of the growth in attendance at 
Ohio colleges from 1910 to 1920 made by President R. M. 
Hughes of Miami University. Only day students are in- 
cluded. The Municipal University of Akron heads the list 
with an increase of 240%, a percentage which would be con- 
siderably larger if students in evening classes were also counted. 

The total annual expenditures since Buchtel College passed 
into city control have grown from $66,554 in 1914 to 
$145,758 in 1920; yet, in spite of this large increase in cost, 
the tax-rate for the support of the University dropped from 
five-tenths to thirty-eight hundredths of a mill, and the cost 
of each full-time student from $262.35 to $236.68, During 
this same period the number of full-time instructors increased 
from twenty to thirty-two. 

As indicative of the general growth of the University we 
quote the following summary from President Kolbe's annual 
report for 1919: 

''The Engineering College has established close relations with 
the industrial activities of the city. Through its co-operative 
courses it nov^ has I 20 students working on the part-time system 
in Akron industries. The college expenses of many of these men 
are being paid by the factories. 

"The Department of Chemistry has established the only col- 
lege course in rubber chemistry in the United States. Students 
enter this from all parts of the country. Several have come from 
foreign countries. Extensive consulting work is also done for 
the rubber industry throughout the country. Two of Akron's 
largest rubber companies maintain fellowships at the University, 
open to graduates of other colleges. 

"The Bureau of City Tests does all the chemical and physical 
testing work for the city of Akron, as for example, tests of ma- 
terials for the Service Department (coal, paving and building 
materials, etc.) ; performs some of the bacteriological water analy- 
ses for the Board of Health; tests daily the effluent of the 
sewage disposal plant and checks the quality of the Akron city 
water supply; serves the Police Department in criminal cases 



134 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

requiring technical assistance, and is generally at the eaU of any 
legitimate city interest. 

"The Department of Biology is in close co-operation with 
public health interests, the Head of the Department serving as 
Educational Director for the Board of Health. Specialized 
work for public health nurses is offered by the Department at 
the University. 

"The Department of Physical Training through its Director 
and students has taken a leading part in supervision of city play- 
ground activities. 

"The Evening College offers numerous courses each year for 
the adult population of the community. Special courses have 
been given for scoutmasters, Americanization teachers, social 
workers, etc. Many extension lectures are given annually by 
faculty members. 

"Other Departments, as for example, the School of Home 
Economics, the Departments of Sociology and Political Science, 
etc., are in constant touch with related community interests." 

Two buildings have been erected on the campus during 
President Kolbe's term of office, the Engineering Laboratory, 
and Carl F. Kolbe Hall, the library building. The former 
was built in 191 7 at a cost of $50,000. Because of the rapid 
growth in the number of students, the University finds itself 
seriously hampered during this present year ( 1 920) by lack 
of adequate classroom and laboratory facilities, with the result 
that bonds for $150,000 have recently been issued to provide 
for the enlargement of the Engineering Laboratory, the re- 
modeling of the Engineering Building (formerly the Acad- 
emy), and the building of the first unit of a concrete stadium 
at the athletic field. It is expected that all these added fa- 
cilities will be ready when the University opens in September, 
1 92 1 . The enlarged Engineering Laboratory will provide 
ample space for all the needs of the Engineering College, thus 
making it possible to use the present Engineering Building for 
the housing of the rapidly-growing departments of Biology 
and Physics; this will in turn relieve the present congestion in 
Buchtel Hall. A former bond issue of $35,000 provided for 
the enlargement of the athletic field fully one-third by the 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 135 

purchase of land adjoining the field on the south, and for the 
regrading and refencing of the field. 

The new library building, Carl F. Kolbe Hall, was the 
gift of two leading Akron citizens, Mr. F. A. Seiberling and 
Mr. Frank Mason. It was built in 1916 at a cost of nearly 
$40,000. It is a beautiful and commodious structure, ad- 
mirably adapted to library purposes. The library, in com- 
mon with other departments of the University, has had a rapid 
growth during President Kolbe's administration. From an 
inadequate collection of 10,000 volumes, many of them out- 
of-date, it has grown to almost 15,000 carefully selected vol- 
umes, and a large number of government and other pamphlets, 
requiring the work of two full-time librarians and two student- 
assistants. The facilities of the library are not for the Uni- 
versity students alone, but for all citizens of Akron. 

Thus the past six years have seen great progress. Promi- 
nent in every step of that progress have been the personality 
and the work of President Kolbe. Of course, such an achieve- 
ment on the part of an educational institution cannot be the 
work of any one man. It is possible only as the result of the 
co-operation of various factors and many individuals. Alone, 
President Kolbe could have done little; but with the help of 
so competent and faithful a secretary-treasurer as Mr. C. R. 
Olin, an efficient and self-sacrificing Board of Directors, an 
able and devoted faculty, a loyal body of alumni, an enthu- 
siastic student body, a generous City Council, and a community 
whose appreciation of the University has steadily grown with 
each passing year, it has been possible to do great things. Yet 
it is mere justice to say that the credit for what has been done 
belongs to President Kolbe more than to any other one man. 
The original idea of changing Buchtel College to a tax-sup- 
ported city institution was his, and from him came the sugges- 
tion to the Board of Trustees that they offer the College to 
the City of Akron; it was he who, more than anyone else. 



136 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

worked out the details of a definite, concrete plan, and whose 
tactful and patient, but aggressive and persistent, efforts se- 
cured its actual adoption; and from that day to the present 
the wise leadership of the president has been a leading factor 
in every advance the University has made. 

President Kolbe has not confined his interests and labors in 
Akron to the University, but has entered enthusiastically into 
the larger life of the city. Believing that the University is 
the servant of the city, he also believes it to be his own personal 
duty — and counts it his privilege — to serve the community to 
the full limit of his powers. He is prominent in leading civic 
organizations, in many of them being either an officer or a 
member of the board of trustees, and his advice and active 
help are sought in every significant movement for civic 
betterment. 

In the midst of his many local duties. President Kolbe has 
still found time to take an active part in the larger educational 
life of the state and the nation. One of the leading spirits in 
the organizing of The American Association of Urban Uni- 
versities, he has continued prominent in its counsels and its 
work. During the Great War, at the request of the U. S. De- 
partment of Education, he spent the months of March to June, 
1919, in the offices of the Department at Washington, D. C, 
in special expert investigation of war-time educational prob- 
lems. In 1919 he was appointed by U. S. Commissioner of 
Education Claxton one of a committee of four to make a 
survey of the educational system of Hawaii, and was absent 
from the University for that purpose the last three months of 
that year. President Kolbe is the author of The Colleges in 
War Time and After, one of a series of volumes dealing with 
problems of war and of reconstruction published by D. Apple- 
ton and Company; is editor of a college text of Heine's 
Harzreise; and in collaboration with Colonel A. L. Conger 
of the United States Army has translated a number of German 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 137 

military texts for use in the U. S. Army Service Schools. 
He has also written many articles for leading educational 
magazines on various aspects of higher education. These out- 
side activities not only have brought honor to President Kolbe, 
but at the same time have caused the Municipal University 
to become far more widely and favorably known. At the 
present time the University holds membership in such leading 
educational organizations as the North Central Association 
of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Association of Urban 
Universities, the Association of American Colleges, and the 
Association of Collegiate Alumnae, and has a place on the 
approved list of the Association of American Universities. 

As has been said, in the significant work President Kolbe 
has been able to accomplish, he has had the constant co-opera- 
tion of loyal helpers. It is a noteworthy fact that both on the 
faculty and elsewhere many of those who have been most 
helpful are graduates or former students of the College. Chief 
among these alumni who have assisted in "carrying on" the 
work at the new Municipal University is Dean Albert I. 
Spanton, a graduate of the class of '99. Dean Spanton's 
service on the college faculty began in the fall of 1905, when, 
after being assistant-principal of Buchtel Academy for four 
years, he was called to the chair of English literature, made 
vacant by the resignation of Professor Maria Parsons. In 
1913 he was appointed dean of Buchtel College, which posi- 
tion, together with the headship of the department of English, 
he has retained since that date. 

As a teacher. Dean Spanton's work has been ever char- 
acterized by thoroughness, skill, keen interest, and that bril- 
liance which comes only from intensive knowledge and deep 
appreciation of one's subject. As an executive, he has shown 
ability marked by painstaking attention to every detail. In 
the trying position of dean, which he occupies as a kind of 
shock-absorber between faculty and students, his straight-for- 



138 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ward honesty and his analytical judgment are a guarantee of 
fair dealing to both parties. Dean Spanton has an enviable 
reputation as a public speaker, and is in constant demand for 
lectures and addresses on literary and educational subjects. 
As an alumnus he has shown a real devotion to his Alma 
Mater; no further proof of this devotion is needed than the 
great labor willingly undertaken and freely given as editor of 
this History. It is a significant fact that in the rapid growth 
of the Municipal University of Akron the addition of other 
schools and departments has in no wise lessened the popularity 
and the growth of Buchtel College of Liberal Arts. In spite 
of an ever-increasing interest in vocational training and spe- 
cialized courses, the dominant demand is still for the broad and 
fundamental education offered by the college over which Dean 
Spanton presides. 

In view of the remarkable growth of the institution since 
Buchtel College was turned over to the city as the nucleus for 
a municipal university, one naturally raises the question, 
"What of the future?" Undoubtedly with larger finances the 
University will continue to grow, adding new schools and new 
activities as needs arise and resources warrant. And the de- 
velopment will undoubtedly continue along the lines already 
followed — a serious study of the educational needs of the 
local community, and an earnest effort to meet them. The 
future of the University depends upon the future of Akron, 
and the only reasonable lim.it to its growth is the limit of the 
city itself. The coming years are large with promise. 

The honorable earlier history of the College, and the recent 
developments and rich promise of the Municipal University, 
found combined expression in the recent celebration — at the 
1920 Commencement — of the Semi-Centennial of the found- 
ing of Buchtel College. The occasion was a success even 
beyond the expectations of those who planned it. Graduates 
and former students of Old Buchtel were present from every 



PRESIDENT KOLBE'S ADMINISl RATION 139 

part of the country. Such a reunion on the campus had never 
been known. At the closing event of the v^eek, the alumni 
banquet, only two classes failed to respond when the roll of 
all the graduating classes was called. Four hundred and 
forty-three persons registered, and many were present who 
failed to register. It was an especially fortunate circumstance 
that we could have with us Doctor E. L. Rexford, the second 
president of Buchtel, and Doctor H. L. Canfield, one of the 
incorporators of the College and a trustee for many years. 
Although past ninety. Doctor Canfield came all the way from 
Los Angeles to attend the Semi-Centennial. 

Thus on every hand at the Semi-Centennial were sugges- 
tions of the earlier Buchtel — in the large attendance of students 
of earlier days, in the presence of Doctor Rexford and Doctor 
Canfield, in the many reunions of the earlier classes, in the 
historic exhibit in the library, and in such events as the alumni 
banquet and the excellent tableaux of scenes from Buchtel 
History that were presented on the campus; but mingled with 
these everywhere were also suggestions of the changed and 
changing order — in the giving of Verdi's // Trovatore in 
honor of the occasion by the newly-organized Akron Opera 
Association, in the public exhibit showing the work of the 
different departments of the University and especially illus- 
trating the many forms of community co-operation undertaken, 
and particularly in the campus luncheon to the leading civic 
clubs and the large interest shown by not only these clubs but 
Akron's citizens in general in the University and in the cele- 
bration. The feeling of all present was admirably voiced by 
Doctor Samuel P. Capen in his Commencement Address. 
Doctor Capen is the son of the elder Capen who for many 
years was president of Tufts College. He spoke interestingly 
of his first visit to Akron thirty-four years ago, in company 
with his father who was a delegate to the Universalist General 
Convention held in Akron that year. After speaking of the 



140 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

city and its college of those earlier days. Doctor Capen 
continued : 

"The institution which is now rounding out fifty years of 
Hfe is not the institution founded in 1870. It has not only 
grown and expanded — most institutions grow and expand — ^it 
has undergone a complete change of structure and purpose. There 
is something almost providential about this metamorphosis. If it 
were only a larger and richer Buchtel College whose fiftieth 
birthday you were observing today, the congratulations of its 
friends might well be tinged with misgivings for the future. But 
the development of this university both internally and in its 
external relationships has placed it in a position of exceptional 
strength to meet the new demands now laid upon the colleges 
by a social order which is radically different from that of a 
generation ago." 

As Doctor Capen emphasizes, the Municipal University is 
not only a larger and richer Buchtel, but far more. And this 
remarkable change and enlargement in the opportunity for 
service of the University — a change which Doctor Capen de- 
scribes as "something almost providential" — should bring in- 
tense gratification to every lover of the Old Buchtel. For 
Buchtel College has not passed away. The history of the 
last six years has shown clearly that Buchtel College, in los- 
ing her life, has found a bigger and a broader life. If it be 
true that the transition to city control was the salvation of the 
College, it is no less true that the existence of Buchtel College 
was the one thing making it possible for Akron to have a 
municipal university. Had there been no Buchtel College, 
there would be no Municipal University of Akron today. In 
every advancement of the newer institution, the gifts of John 
R. Buchtel and other noble benefactors, and the self-sacrificing 
labors of all who wrought in earlier days for the College that 
was, are bringing forth fruit not twenty, or forty, but a 
hundred-fold. 



PRESIDENT KOLBES ADMINISTRATION 141 



MEN OF AKRON 

Written by Parke R. Kolbe, '01 

Rise! ye men of Akron, rise! 
Sing to Alma Mater ! 
High she stands upon her hill 
O'er Cuyahoga's water. 
Generations, looking down. 
Proud in fame and story. 
Challenge you, her sons, today. 
Dare you dim her glory? 

Mother of uncounted men. 
Shall the loyal falter? 
Strong and faithful as of old. 
We surround thy altar. 
Hopes of half a hundred years 
Made thy history glorious; 
Send us wisdom, honor, faith — 
Lead us on victorious! 



CHAPTER IX 
THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 

THE "Preparatory Department" of Buchtel College has 
a record somewhat unique in the history of educational 
institutions which have had both a collegiate and an 
academic department under the same direct management, be- 
cause, instead of being the weaker element, it was in point 
of numbers by far the stronger of the two. While the colle- 
giate has been of slow but steady growth numerically, the 
preparatory may be said to have sprung "full panoplied from 
the head of Jove." 

September 11,1 872, Buchtel's natal day, was indeed the 
day of the under dog. For proof, we have only to quote 
from the catalog of 1872-3, which gives the following sum- 
mary of attendance for the year: "Juniors and Freshmen 7, 
Philosophical classes 39, Academical courses 171; total 21 7." 

When the bell in the tower rang for the first time to call the 
assembled hosts to chapel, all met in the sarne room at the 
same time, and listened to the same words from Buchtel's first 
president. The wise men from the East and from the West 
who had been called as instructors all sat in line facing the 
students, the president being the central figure, and it was 
the privilege of the humblest, as well as the wisest, to sit in 
the presence of the entire faculty, no distinction of rank being 
shown. 

At first no discrimination was made in the seating of students, 
except that the girls occupied the west half of the room, and 
the boys the east half. All met upon the same level in every 
sense of the word. For the great majority, it was their first 
day at college. Hence they were ignorant of the great gulf 
which lies between preps and freshmen, and were not aware 
that seniors must be approached with awe, and uncovered 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 143 

heads. Being unsophisticated, they supposed that a cat may 
look at a king without apology and with perfect impunity. 
Their democratic ideas might well have been strengthened by 
the first words of Holy Writ ever read to Buchtel students. 
President McCollester very wisely selected for the first Scrip- 
ture lesson, Romans XII, which contains the following 
admonitions : 

"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man 
that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he 
ought to think, but to think soberly. ... Be kindly affectioned 
one to another, with brotherly love; in honor preferring one an- 
other. ... Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind 
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not 
wise in your own conceits." 

In fact, in many instances there was little ground for dis- 
tinction. It must not be inferred that preparatory students were 
all young, immature, and untutored. They ranged from ten- 
year-old "Vinnie" Tomlinson and Lee McCollester to teachers 
who had come for review in normal branches, some of whom 
had a right to feel no whit inferior in culture to those ranked 
as college students. 

The catalog mentions only two teachers as belonging 
strictly to the preparatory department: H. C. Persons, in- 
structor in normal work; and Miss Hattie Lowdan, instructor 
in English. As a matter of course, these two teachers could 
not handle all the work of the department; so some students, 
who were capable, assisted. The course of study for the 
first year prescribed an outline of work covering three years 
for both philosophical and classical students, no scientific 
course having as yet been instituted. To show the character 
of the work required in those early days, an outline of the 
curriculum for the first two courses is here given : 

The first year Classical included the following: Latin Gram- 
mar, Latin Reader, Caesar, Arithmetic, Geography, Reading, 
Spelling, United States History, and Rhetorical Exercises. 

The second year required Latin Grammar, Caesar, Greek 



144 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Grammar and Lessons, English History. Cicero, Xenophon's 
Anabasis, French History, and Rhetorical Exercises. 

The third year required Latin Grammar, Virgil, Latin Prosody 
and Prose Composition, Greek Grammar, Anabasis, Algebra, 
Homer's Iliad, Greek Prosody and Rhetorical Exercises. 

It will thus be seen that good stiff work in classics awaited all 
students who took that course. Nothing less would have been 
accepted by that classical sage, Nehemiah White, professor of 
ancient languages in the collegiate department. It will be noticed 
that no Algebra was required until the third year, and no Geom- 
etry until the freshman year. 

The Philosophical Course differed from the Classical the first 
year only in the substitution of English for Latin. In the second 
year. Arithmetic and English were continued and Bookkeeping 
and Algebra added. In the third, English, Algebra, and Book- 
keeping were continued, and Geometry and Civics added. This 
course was planned for students who intended to enter business 
life, or desired only work which would be most practical in every- 
day life. 

Daily grades were carefully kept, written reviews were fre- 
quent, and written examinations were held at the close of each 
term. Declamations and essays were required from all. The 
textbooks used were of standard excellence, and the work ac- 
complished under adverse circumstances was commendable. 
Several students were accepted at a very early age and work 
below that of the standard required of regular pupils was 
provided for them. Such youngsters did not add to the dig- 
nity of a college perhaps, but they were the stuff that men are 
made of, and the College today is proud to enroll them in the 
list of those who have honored their Alma Mater. 

It may be of interest to note that of five members of the 
Senior Preparatory Classical Course, four won recognition at 
home and elsewhere. The list included Charles Baird, a 
prominent Akron attorney for many years, and later of New 
York City, a profound thinker and a man of fine business 
judgment; Charles W. Parmenter, head-master of the Me- 
chanic Arts High School, Boston, Massachusetts, who has 
recently celebrated his twenty-fifth year of service in that 
school ; William D. Shipman, so long connected with Buchtel 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 145 

as teacher of Greek and Latin in the preparatory department, 
and later promoted to a professorship in the. college proper; 
and Robert F. Paine, for many years managing editor of 
The Cleveland Penny Press. Included in the same class in 
the Philosophical Course were Walla Kelly, Kitty Rowe, and 
Lettie Titus, who remained in college until their graduation. 
In the second year of the Classical Course, was Albert C. 
White, who remained until 1876, when he went to Tufts to 
prepare for the ministry. Mr. White disputes with the Rev- 
erend A. J. Palmer the honor of being the youngest soldier in 
the Civil War. He entered the service in a Columbus, Ohio, 
regiment at the age of nine years, and drew pay as a drummer- 
boy for a considerable time. 

In the first year Classical were Fremont Hamilton, a well- 
known banker and business man of East Liberty, Ohio; 
Irving Tomlinson, one of the most prominent of Christian 
Scientists and closely associated for many years with Mary 
Baker Eddy — a man who is keenly alive to helpful activities 
of the community, and one who has always shown a warm 
interest in his Alma Mater and been ever ready to lend a 
helping hand. In the same class was Lee McCollester, for 
many years pastor of a large Universalist Church in New York, 
and at present dean of Tufts Theological School. In the first 
year Philosophical was "Vinnie" Tomlinson, who has been 
pastor of the First Universalist Church of Worcester, Massa- 
chusetts, for about twenty years, and whose name is almost 
a household word among the older students. In the same 
class was Will Clemens, who became a writer of considerable 
prominence. Of those classed as irregular, only two remained 
until graduation — Nellie M. Robinson, '75, and Byron J. 
Bogue, *77. 

The College was not in the beginning so largely Akronian 
as it was in later years. Of the 171 students classified as 



146 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

belonging to the "Preparatory Department" the first year, only 
67, or a little less than 40%, resided in Akron. 

In all social functions no distinction was shown between 
college students and preparatory, the presence of the latter 
being almost necessary because of their great plurality of 
numbers, and greatly to be desired because included in that 
department were many bright and lively young men who knew 
how to make and enjoy good times, and many charming young 
women who were especially attractive to college men. The 
first year Buchtel was indeed a pure democracy. All trod the 
same walks, all recited in the same buildmg, no distinction was 
shown in the dining-room, all met on the same level at social 
functions and entertainments, and all quenched their thirst at 
the same water tanks on the first floor, using the same tin cups 
which served until worn out — because germs and bacilli had 
not been introduced to the public at that date to any great 
extent, and hence had done no harm. 

The two regularly appointed instructors in the preparatory 
department — H. D. Persons and Miss Hattie Lowdan — both 
severed their connection with the institution at the close of the 
first year. Professor Persons carried with him the best wishes 
of his pupils, for he was an able and a conscientious teacher. 
Miss Lowdan will be remembered as a beautiful woman, tall, 
accomplished, and charming in manner. Soon after her re- 
turn to her home city, Zanesville, a brief illness and sudden 
death put an end to her joyous preparations for the future. 

These two vacancies in the faculty were filled by Wallace 
Mayo, instructor in Greek and commercial branches, and 
Mary E. Stockman, instructor in Latin and English. Susie 
E. Chamberlain, '73, assisted in English. Miss Emma Miller 
was engaged as teacher of penmanship, for in those early 
days poor writing was not considered evidence of scholastic 
attainments. Professor Fraunfelter and Professor Welsh of 
the collegiate department gave a portion of their valuable time 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 147 

to preparatory work. President McColIester believed tKat 
learning to read well was important, and he felt that it was not 
a sacrifice of his dignity to teach preparatory students in read- 
ing. He had given especial attention to elocutionary work, and 
his classes were large and enthusiastic. He also lent a helping 
hand in teaching other branches when assistance was needed. 
It is needless to say that the faculty having been thus strength- 
ened in numbers, results were correspondingly advanced. 

As has been said, three years of work were required of both 
classical and philosophical students in the announcement of the 
first year. In the announcement the following year, three 
courses were offered in the collegiate department, but in the 
academic no distinction was made between the Philosophical 
and Scientific, the work being identical. The Classical, 
however, required three years, and the others only two, the 
work of two years having been condensed into one and made 
less elementary. The number of students enrolled the second 
year in the "Preparatory Department" was 134, and in the 
"Collegiate" 101, showing a marked decrease in the plurality 
held the first year by the preparatory students. 

Professor Mayo proved himself a valuable man for the 
College, serving not only as a teacher, but as steward. He 
remained three years, when he resigned to engage in commer- 
cial work; he has continued in that line of work ever since. 
Early students will remember his marriage to Mrs. Martha 
Lake, who was formerly matron at Buchtel. Her death oc- 
curred early in 1919 at Dayton, where she and her husband 
had resided for thirty years. Miss Stockman also proved 
herself very efficient as a teacher and was well liked, remain- 
ing in service four years, at which time she resigned to accept 
another position, but returned in 1887 and remained until 
1898. Perhaps no higher compliment can be paid her thor- 
oughness than that expressed in a recent letter by Reverend 
Vincent Tomlinson, '80, in which he says, "Miss Stockman 



148 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

put some fear of the Lord into my youthful heart, if I faced 
her unprepared." 

In September, 1874, Miss Jennie Gifford came as "Prin- 
cipal and Instructor in Normal Work"; she also had charge 
of the girls' dormitory. Her coming marked the beginning of 
an epoch in the history of the preparatory department, be- 
cause it brought new life, organization, and strength. She 
was a graduate of the Lebanon Normal School, and brought 
with her to Buchtel the enthusiasm so characteristic of that 
institution. She was the embodiment of energy, thoroughness 
and efficiency. She commanded the respect of every student, 
and each felt her to be a personal friend who had only his 
best interests at heart. She brought out the best that was in 
her pupils, inspiring them to go to the limit of their ability 
in the accomplishment of a high ideal. She was firm, but 
kind. Nine o'clock was always nine o'clock, and not five 
minutes after. She treated all alike, was honest with every- 
one, and expected honesty in return. She resigned her posi- 
tion in 1898, having remained with the institution for a period 
of twenty-four years. 

S. Emma Cadwallader Hyre writes as follows concerning 

Miss Gifford: 

"As I look back over my years at Buchtel, and reproduce in a 
mental picture the stately figure of Miss Gifford, as principal of 
the preparatory department, and in charge of the girls' dormitory, 
I realize now, as I could not for lack of experience in those years, 
what a wonderful woman she was. She was an executive far 
ahead of her time. She planned for the future woman twenty- 
live years hence, when woman should have her part in the 
world's affairs; and every girl who was touched by her influence 
then must realize this today. She was kind and lovable, yet 
altogether firm and convincing. I did not have Miss Gifford as a 
teacher of many subjects, but this I know from experience — 
that she had no patience with superficial work. She wanted to 
have her pupils thorough and genuine. I have given fifteen years 
of my life to the cause of education in the Cleveland Schools by 
service upon the Board of Education and as its Secretary and 
Treasurer. If there has been any merit in my work, if I have 
tried to raise my service above the level of mediocrity, it is due 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 149 

to the high principles and honor of the men and women who 
served as instructors during my college years, and prominent 
among them was Jennie B. Gifford." 

Herbert Henry says much in little: 

"I was in mortal terror of Miss Gifford until I met her, but 
soon found out that the pupil who did his best had nothing to 
fear from her, while the one who attempted to get by without 
hard work very soon learned that she wasn't that kind." 

Doctor Mary B. Jewett, 76, Professor of English at Buch- 
tel for a number of years and a close personal friend, writes 
the following testimonial concerning Miss Gifford: 

"I used to look up to Miss Gifford as a wonderful person, 
and I have always continued to look up to her. For rugged 
worth, genuine honesty, and fearless frankness, I have never seen 
her equal. If you wanted an opinion from Miss Gifford on any 
subject, you need have no fear that it would be couched in un- 
certain terms. No camouflage with her now, any more than in 
the good old days. Her letters during the war have shown what 
a good hater she can be, and her views of the Hun and of the 
Kaiser, as I have had them from week to week, have been warm 
reading. On the other hand, there is never any doubt about 
her warm approval. Her admiration of Theodore Roosevelt did 
not wait until his death to find expression. From the day he was 
summoned by the death of the President to take that high office, 
up to the day of his death, he was to her our First American. 
I have had the pleasure of keeping in close touch with those two 
staunch old friends and earnest workers of the early days — Miss 
Gifford and Miss Stockman*, and though they are growing old 
in years, they are keeping young in heart. They worked patri- 
otically for their country all through the war time. They do all 
they can for every good social work in the town of Media, just 
outside of Philadelphia, where they have lived for a number of 
years. In recent years they have both become great lovers of 
birds and students of bird life, and they have grown to be authori- 
ties on the subject." 

The third year of the department saw no marked change 
m the curriculum, but there was more efficient, systematic work 
than in the years preceding. Three years of preparation for 
college work were required from all classical students, but 
only two from scientific and philosophical, the work of the last 

♦Since the receipt of this letter from Doctor Jewett, word has come of the 
death of Miss Stockman at her home in Media. — The Editor. 



150 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

two being identical. In 1 876-7 there was established a normal 
course. A class was formed each term in methods of teaching 
and school government, which proved very helpful and at- 
tractive to those who intended to become teachers. In 1 878-9 
three years were required for college entrance in all courses, 
and the Philosophical and Scientific were so changed as to 
conform to corresponding collegiate work. Latin, as well as 
English, was required of all philosophical students for the 
entire three years, and the work in mathematics was identical 
in all courses. In the Classical, no English was required after 
the first year, and no history, except one term of general history 
in the first term of the middle year. Scientific students took 
one year of Latin; industrial and free hand-drawing, two 
terms ; history, four terms ; bookkeeping, two ; and natural phi- 
losophy, two terms. It will thus be seen that while the courses 
differed, they were evenly balanced in the amount of work 
to be done. Declamations and essays were required of all. 

In the fall of 1875 George A. Peckham, '75, became in- 
structor in classics and mathematics. His master mind could 
solve problems mentally while others were just getting started ; 
hence he had little patience with lazy, careless pupils. He 
had a craving appetite for Greek and Latin roots, and he 
never let one get away when once he had it. Indeed, like 
one other master we read of, it was a matter of surprise that 
"one small head could carry all he knew." In the fall of 
1878 he was called to the chair of ancient languages made 
vacant by the resignation of Professor Choate. Hiram needed 
just such a man as Professor Peckham, and in the fall of 
1880 he left Buchtel to enter his new field of labor, where 
he has remained continuously. Much of his time has been 
devoted to teaching Hebrew and Biblical literature. 

In the fall of 1876 Mary B. Jewett, 76, returned to her 
Alma Mater, not as a student, but as an assistant-teacher of 
Latin, remaining for a period of two years, and returning in 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 151 

1 884 to accept the Pierce Professorship of Rhetoric and Eng- 
lish Literature. 

In the fall of 1877 Inez L. Shipman, 76, and Lizzie U. 
Slade, 77, became assistant-teachers, each remaining one year, 
while taking additional work in college. Both did faithful and 
excellent work. 

At the close of the year 1878 President S. H. McCollester, 
who belonged as much to the preparatory department as to 
the collegiate, severed his connection with Buchtel for a period 
of rest and travel in foreign lands. He was a friend to every 
student, the humblest as well as the greatest, and all felt free 
to go to him with their joys and their sorrows, knowing that 
he would lend a willing ear. 

September, 1 878, marked the beginning of President Rex- 
ford's administration. The preparatory faculty at that time 
consisted of Miss Gifford, W. D. Shipman, Miss Chamber- 
Iain, and J. H. Aydelotte. Mr. Shipman had been librarian 
since 1874, and in the fall of 1878 he was made instructor 
in ancient languages. In 1 882 he was promoted to the college 
faculty, having the chair of Greek language and literature, 
and holding the position until 1895, when Professor Charles 
Bates became professor of both Latin and Greek. Professor 
Shipman was offered a professorship in Greek in a college in 
California, but was unable to accept it on account of impaired 
health. He died very suddenly while on a visit to the home 
of his uncle in December, 1895. He was an enthusiast in 
the study of Greek. For a time an arrangement brought about 
by him was made whereby pupils from the High School, who 
wished to pursue that branch, were taught in his classes with- 
out expense to them. He was well-known among philologists 
as an ardent student in that line of study, and was the author 
of a chart showing the development of the alphabet. Pro- 
fessor Shipman was one of the first to enroll as a student when 
the College opened its doors in 1 872, and from that time until 



152 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

1 894, when his connection with the College was severed, was 
a faithful teacher, doing everything in his power to further the 
interests of his Alma Mater. 

Another teacher of this period who met with an untimely 
death was James H. Aydelotte, '80. While a student he 
showed such marked ability and energy in his work, especially 
in mathematics, that he was engaged two years before his 
graduation to devote a portion of his time to teaching. He 
afterward gave full time to mathematics until the close of the 
year 1883-4, when he went West and established a business 
college at Oakland, California. He died very suddenly of 
peritonitis while on a business trip to the City of Mexico, Sep- 
tember 24, 1911. He is survived by his wife, Minnie Wright 
Aydelotte, '82, and three sons. 

Other students who did tutoring because they showed teach- 
ing ability were Mary Laughead, Frank Payne, Frank Garver, 
and Paul Miller. 

In the fall of 1881 Helen S. Pratt of Fairfield, Maine, 
came to the College as instructor in English and Latin. In 
1887 she was succeeded by Mrs. Van Laer. Miss Pratt 
was quiet and unassuming and endeared herself to all by her 
thorough work and winning personality, both in the class- 
room and in the dormitory. She passed away very suddenly 
September 20, 1918. A letter had been received by one of 
her friends a few days before, saying that she was so well 
she felt she had strength for several years longer. 

1881-2, the decennial year at Buchtel, found the prepara- 
tory department not increased in numbers, but it had passed 
from a chaotic condition to a well-organized and disciplined 
school, strong in all lines of its work, and with all courses 
evenly balanced. 

As the collegiate department grew in numbers, the demo- 
cratic spirit which was so pronounced at first lessened to a 
marked degree. In The Buchtel Record of September, 1882, 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 153 

there appeared a very emphatic expression of the feehng then 
existing. The author criticized severely the fact that college 
men and women were subject to the same rules that governed 
the "Junior Prep." In the course of his argument he says: 

"We must have a distinction in Buchtel College. Here the 
Prep ranks with the College Man in everything except the cost 
of tuition. He forms an important part of every college organiza- 
tion — the fraternity, the literary society, the glee club, etc. Such 
a state of affairs would not be tolerated for a moment in any 
first-class Eastern institution, and in our Western colleges it is 
meeting with decided opposition. Now we do not wish to advo- 
cate too strong a distinction, so that a belligerent feeling may 
arise ; we do not even wish that the Prep should be banished from 
the college organizations in which he is now found. But we do 
ask that those who regulate the affairs of college discipline con- 
sider seriously the matter of bringing college men and women, 
without exception, under the same restrictions that govern pre- 
paratory pupils." 

In the November issue of the same publication appeared a 
very able reply in verse. A portion is here quoted: 

" 'Tis Httle use to talk. All know full well 
The story of our thralldom. We are Preps! 
Collegians rise, and with united voice 
Proclaim us simply Preps. They meetings hold 
In which the burden of their song is this: 
'Farewell to Preps!' and hope 'twill lead 
To crimson glory and undying fame; 
But poor deluded souls! We'll not be dupes 
Of petty egotists, conceited students. 
Rich in some dozen facts and fancies. 
Strong in some forty freshmen ; only great 
In that strange spell, a name. 

}f, S^ ^ 9(, 

Yet this is caste. 

That seeks an entrance here, and from her throne 
Of power rules the world! Her slaves scorn Preps, 
But thought in former days a Senior Prep 
Was greater than a Fresh. And once again 
Hear me, ye Preps, that echo to the cry 
For right and justice. Evermore we'll swear 
THE PREP FOREVER SHALL BE FREE!" 

In the same number of The Buchtel Record, November, 
1882, was given an account of the memorable skirmish be- 



154 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

tween college men and "Preps." The heading was as follows: 
"FULL PARTICULARS OF THE GREAT WAR 
BETWEEN THE COLLEGE AND PREPARA- 
TORY DEPARTMENTS." 

There was a picture of a mortar board, a jubilant "Prep" 
above it, and below it in big capitals, "B L U D." Then the 
stanza : 

"Johnny had a little cap, 

Whose board was square and black. 

And everywhere that Johnny went 

'Twas sure to get a whack." 

This display of fireworks was an outcome of the introduc- 
tion of the Oxford cap and gown, an innovation which pro- 
voked much ridicule from underclassmen and many outsiders. 
The Record says : 

"On Thursday evening a monumental cheeked Prep, who 
deserves a leather medal for his gall, visited the social wearing a 
cap and gown which he had surreptitiously obtained." 

A lively skirmish followed, and the "Prep" retreated, but 
he panted for revenge. At the close of the social, when the 
"Senior Class" (Chesrown was the sole member of the senior 
class in 1882), wearing his cap and gown, had just passed 
the division doors, the gas was turned off, and the "Preps" 
advanced by a flank movement on the said "Senior Class." 
One long, wild, and blood-curdling yell went up in the dark- 
ness; this was the slogan for the collegians to rush to the 
rescue. In the darkness friend struck friend and foe pounded 
foe until both sides drew off for repairs. Again we quote 
from The Record: 

'When the smoke cleared away there arose a wild shout of 
exultation from the Collegians, for v^th that battle the line be- 
tween college and prepdom had been distinctly drawn, and the 
Collegians had gained a victory, the importance of which can 
only be realized by the tone that it will impart to the College De- 
partment, and the good results which will follow." 

There was nothing dull about college life in those days. 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 155 

As the College grew in numbers, class spirit became more 
pronounced in college classes, and had its echo in the prepara- 
tory department. The younger students aped their elders 
in everything worth while, going as far as they dared, and 
frequently carried out original ideas, which showed much wit 
and planning. The middles had their own socials and the 
seniors had theirs. Commencement each year had its begin- 
ning in the preparatory department, and preparations were 
almost as elaborate as were in evidence the following week. 
The seniors established an annual custom of giving a reception 
to the middles some time near Commencement Week, and 
there was nothing stingy or amateurish about it. The literary 
exercises for the occasion were held in the chapel, after which 
all repaired to the dining-room for the banquet, which was 
sometimes served by professional caterers. Toasts followed, 
after which there was a general good time. 

The Friday evening preceding Commencement proper was 
always the time set apart for the graduation exercises of the 
"Senior Preps." It was to all concerned a memorable occa- 
sion. "To be a Senior Prep was greater than to be a king." 
Bert Henry writes: "I think the proudest moment of my 
existence was when I graduated from the Preparatory 
School." The chapel was crowded with friends of the class. 
The stage was artistically decorated with palms, flowers, class 
colors, and emblems. Each member of the class appeared 
on the program, all having been thoroughly drilled for the 
occasion. Most entered the collegiate department the follow- 
ing year, but some, whom circumstances compelled to quit 
school, forged ahead and made fine records for themselves in 
the school of experience. 

What has been said regarding the high standard of the 
work required and accomplished in the late seventies is true 
also of the years which followed. "No backward footsteps," 
was the slogan of the preparatory department. 



156 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Among the teachers of the second decade under the able 
leadership of President Orello Cone, was Charles C. Bates, 
professor of Latin in the college, who did not consider it be- 
neath his dignity to teach "Senior Preps." They came into his 
austere presence with fear and trembling, but they also came 
with lessons prepared. 

The department has always been proud of the fact that 
back in 1883 Charles S. Howe, the honored president of 
Case School of Applied Science, was adjunct-professor of 
mathematics at Buchtel and gave valued service in prepara- 
tory work, to the great advantage of those who were so for- 
tunate as to be members of his classes. Who knows how 
much of Doctor Howe's success in later years is due to the 
practise he received at Buchtel in training the young idea 
how to shoot, and inspiring the young people to hitch their 
wagon to a star? 

There were tutors, too, in this second period, to whom the 
College now points with pride. One whom Akron, as well 
as Buchtel, delights to enroll among her honored ones is Mary 
E. Gladwin, because of her wonderful record in Red Cross 
work, not only in the recent war, when she spent four years 
in Serbia, but in the Spanish-American War, when she gave 
valuable service in Cuba and Porto Rico, and in the Russo- 
Japanese War, when she was one of ten nurses sent from this 
country to Japan to train native nurses and systematize the 
work. She has been decorated a number of times in recogni- 
tion of her valuable services — twice by Serbia, three times by 
Japan, and once by Russia. But her work has not all been 
in foreign countries. She has made an enviable record in 
hospitals in this country, and at the time of the Dayton Flood 
was in charge of all Red Cross relief work there. At present 
she is assisting in Red Cross work in Akron. In spite of 
honors heaped upon her, she is the same unassuming Mary 
Gladwin who endeared herself to all in her college days. In 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 157 

recognition of her splendid work, her Alma Mater conferred 
upon her the degree of Doctor of Laws at Commencement, 
1920. 

Another tutor who should be mentioned is Frank O. Payne, 
so long connected with the schools of Greater New York, and 
author of several textbooks on scientific subjects. Mention 
should also be made of Lily R. Moore, who taught Latin, 
Greek, and physiology, and assisted in college work. After 
leaving college, she became prominently identified with suf- 
frage work in Utah, and became secretary of the Utah Senate. 

After Miss Stockman and Miss Gifford left the dormitory 
and began housekeeping in their home on Union Street, Miss 
Dora Merrill was placed in charge of the girls in the building, 
and became instructor in history and normal work in the colle- 
giate department. She was bright and witty, and always 
saw the funny side of things, if there was one. In fact, she 
says her sense of humor almost led her into disgrace more 
than once. It is needless to say that her sunny presence was 
greatly appreciated by her pupils, but all understood that there 
was no trifling in class work, for she was thorough and exact- 
ing. She left Buchtel to take charge of one of the best- 
known girls' private schools in New York City. After seven 
years, on account of ill health, she left New York and went to 
Idaho, where, she says, she has literally returned to the soil, 
but not "Dust to dust," in the profession of farming. She has 
been doing big development work in Idaho, and has charge 
of several hundred acres of apple orchards, alfalfa fields, and 
other enterprises. She has entirely regained her health, and 
is the same happy optimist. She says she is still a spinster, and 
not ashamed of it, and a voter, of course. She spends her 
winters at Lockhaven, Pennsylvania. 

Miss Martha A. Bortle succeeded Miss Merrill in charge 
of the girls' dormitory and of the normal department. She 
was a woman of commanding presence, strong personality, and 



158 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

happy temperament — the requisites of a strong leader. Her 
specialty was English, and she did much to correct faulty 
speech among her pupils. She was a fine speaker, and her 
talks to the girls were helpful to a high degree. She was a 
happy factor in promoting the social life of the College, and 
planned and executed many happy functions. Her pupils felt 
that in her they had a sincere friend and good counselor; so 
it was with regret that they parted with her when, in 1895, 
she took up her new work as field lecturer for Buchtel. She 
later entered the ministry, and became pastor of a church in 
Hamilton, Ohio. Failing health compelled her to give up 
regular active work, but her nature would not allow her to 
remain dormant, and she did what her strength would permit. 
The end came at Chautauqua, New York, 1910. 

Thinking that W. T. Sawyer, '87, could furnish some 
interesting facts concerning the social life of the preparatory 
students while he was one of their number, we asked him to 
contribute some information. His reply is characteristic and 
entertaining : 

"I do not know much about the social life of Prepdom, for 
the reason that I never had any time to devote to it. You may 
not remember that as a Prep I w^as a grub, or bookworm, and 
that I studied so hard my hair began to turn gray before I got 
through college. During that same period Dr. Cone's hair 
whitened quite a bit, but it was not wholly my fault. I do not 
say it boastingly, but have always claimed that no set of grades 
made by any student in the preparatory department of old Buchtel 
ever equalled mine in many respects. I stood by and saw that 
grand old structure burn, with tears in my eyes, but when I 
learned that my grade record did not burn my grief went beyond 
control." 

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," was 
realized by the faculty, and much was done to create a happy, 
healthful amusement program for all students. 

Changes were made in the curriculum from time to time to 
comply with college requirements, and the sentiments of the 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 159 

times. Believing that all students should have some knowl- 
edge of Latin to prepare them for their college work, Latin 
was again introduced in 1885 in the Scientific Course, and 
made a requirement in the junior and middle years. For the 
same reason, industrial and free-hand drawing were made 
obligatory in all courses. In 1887 a "Normal Course" was 
outlined, consisting of two years of very hard work, with four 
or five studies in each of three terms, but students entering were 
supposed to be well prepared in common branches. 

The preparatory department owes much to the Findley 
family. In the fall of 1892 Doctor Samuel Findley became 
principal of the normal department, a position for which he 
was eminently fitted, having been superintendent of Akron 
Public Schools for fifteen years, and editor of The Ohio Edu- 
cational Monthly since 1 882. He remained with the College 
for two years, when he resigned to take up other work. He 
died in 1898. In 1892 his son, Edwin S. Findley, became 
instructor in Greek and Latin, remaining until the close of 
1894, when his brother, S. Emerson Findley, took his place 
and continued for two years. Edwin Findley is now princi- 
pal of the South High School of Cleveland, and Emerson 
is with The Iron Age, his territory being the Middle West, 
with headquarters at Cleveland. They were all born teachers, 
but it is certainly an unusual circumstance that father and two 
sons should be teachers in the same school within five years. 

Did not the limits of this chapter forbid, it would be a 
pleasure to speak somewhat at length of other loyal and effi- 
cient workers during the eighties and nineties. Some gave all 
their time to the preparatory department; others were instruc- 
tors in the collegiate department who taught some preparatory 
classes. Among these was Charles R. Olin, '85, who taught 
mathematics for several years, displaying in his teaching the 
same devotion and thoroughness he has shown in his years of 
service as secretary of Buchtel College and the Municipal 



160 FIFTY YEARSOF BUCHTEL 

University. Another teacher of mathematics was Joseph H. 
James, '94, now head of the department of technical chemistry 
in the Carnegie Institute of Technology. 

The resignation of Miss Jennie Gifford in 1898, after 
twenty-four years of faithful service, left a vacancy in both 
preparatory and normal departments. The principalship of 
both departments was offered to Mr. O. E. Olin, professor 
of English language and literature in the State Agricultural 
College of Kansas. Mr. Olin was an Ohio man who had been 
for more than twenty-five years in the schools of Kansas, as 
public school teacher, high school principal, city superin- 
tendent, conductor of normal institutes, and college professor. 
This experience he found of great value in the exacting work 
of the next few years. Mr. Olin reached Akron August first, 
. 1 898, and entered at once upon the duties of his position. 

The preparatory department at this time offered a three 
years' course of study in direct preparation for college, and 
a two years' normal course in preparation for teaching; it also 
included an art school, which gave work in both drawing and 
painting. 

The college and the preparatory school were both housed 
in the same building, which, after the old plan of college 
architecture, contained classrooms, dormitories, boarding hall, 
library, and administrative offices. The preparatory depart- 
ment, however, had its separate faculty, consisting ?it that time 
of Principal Olin, Miss Elmie Warner, Miss Belle Arm- 
strong, Mr. C. R. Olin, secretary of the College, and Miss 
Minnie Fuller, head of the art school. 

A slightly increased attendance marked the year, and at its 
close 23 pupils completed the preparatory course, and three 
the normal course. 

At the close of the first term of the next year, 1 899, oc- 
curred the great fire that burned the college building to the 
ground, and left both college and preparatory school without 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 161 

a home. The story of this great disaster and the faithfu. 
work of the friends of Buchtel College has been told elsewhere. 

The faculty of the preparatory school was in session in the 
principal's office when the alarm of fire was given, and with- 
out waiting for adjournment the members scattered to begin 
the work of rescue. Two weeks later they were called to- 
gether to complete the session, the story of the fire was written 
into the minutes in explanation, plans were adopted for con- 
tinuing their work, and the meeting was regularly adjourned. 
Though all felt keenly the dire calamity that had befallen 
the school, there was no thought of giving up. 

Through the kindness of Mr. F. A. Albrecht, the rooms 
above his drug store on Center Street, adjoining the college 
grounds, were hastily converted into classrooms and given 
rent free to the College, for the use of the preparatory depart- 
ment, until its own buildings should be replaced. 

After the holidays, with only a few days' delay, the school 
opened in these rooms. The students stood loyally by, en- 
during all the necessary discomforts, and this was their home 
for nearly two years. They facetiously referred to the pre- 
paratory school of those days — because of its location — as the 
"School of Pharmacy." 

Immediately after the fire the trustees of Buchtel College 
prepared to erect two buildings, one for the college on the site 
of the old building, and one for the preparatory school on a 
portion of the foundation of "Science Hall," facing on Sum- 
ner Street. 

Mr. Herbert Briggs of Cleveland, a Buchtel graduate, was 
selected as architect for the Sumner Street building, and in 
connection with Principal Clin planned, for the exclusive use 
of the preparatory department, the fine brick building now 
used by the Engineering School. This building was com- 
pleted and occupied in 1901. 



162 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

At this time also the school was reorganized upon the basis 
of a full four years' course of study, meeting all the require- 
ments of college entrance ; and it became an accredited school 
for all Ohio colleges, and many colleges outside the state. 
The two-year normal course was discontinued, and the name 
of the school was officially changed to Buchtel Academy, 
which name it kept during the rest of its history. 

Thus the most serious crisis in the life of the institution was 
successfully met by the loyalty of faculty and students, and 
was even made the occasion for advance and enlargement. 

With the occupancy of the new building and the enlarge- 
ment of the course, more students were enrolled and more 
teaching force was necessary. At the same time two members 
of the faculty who had given long and faithful service to the 
school resigned to go elsewhere. Miss Elmie Warner and Miss 
Belle Armstrong, and their places must be filled. Miss 
Blanche Widdecombe and Miss Claudia Schrock, both grad- 
uates of Buchtel, were then chosen as members of the faculty. 
In the fall of 1900 Albert I. Spanton of the class of 1899. 
now dean of the Liberal Arts College, was made assistant- 
principal of the Academy. Other teachers were added from 
time to time, until, counting all who were conducting classes 
at the Academy, there were twelve instructors when Buchtel 
College became a municipal university. 

In 1904 Principal Olin, who for two years had also been 
acting-professor of economics in the collegiate department, 
was made head of the department of economics and history, 
and Mr. Godfrey Charles Schaible was chosen principal of 
the Academy. This position he held for two years, retiring 
in 1906. 

At this time the trustees elected to the position Mr. Charles 
O. Rundell, a Buchtel graduate, who for five years had been 
vice-principal and teacher of German and history in Tabor 
Academy in Massachusetts. Miss Alice M. Rines was as- 



THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT 163 

sistant-principal. Mr. Rundell was assisted by a strong corps 
of teachers during his eight years of service, among whom were 
Miss Rines, Mr. Charles Shipman, and Mrs. EHzabeth 
Thompson. 

Mr. Rundell had an ambition to have the Academy recog- 
nized throughout the entire country as a first-class preparatory 
school, and he gave much work to this end. He was rewarded 
by seeing the Academy on the accredited list of the North 
Central Association of Schools and Colleges, and on the ac- 
credited list of such colleges as Cornell, Pennsylvania, Michi- 
gan, Williams, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Wellesley, Mt. 
Holyoke, and Smith. He also endeavored to raise the stand- 
ard of the school by securing for the Academy chapters of 
the two honor societies for preparatory schools. Alpha Delta 
Tau for the boys, and Kappa Zeta for the girls. He believed 
that history and civics should be given more attention in secon- 
dary schools, and he and Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson planned 
and worked out what was perhaps the widest and most thor- 
ough course in history and government in any preparatory 
school in the land. 

During the years from 1871 to 1914 a goodly number of 
the graduates of Buchtel College received a part or all of their 
fitting for college in the preparatory school, and some of the 
romance of college days hovers around its name. During the 
early days its enrollment was usually equal to or larger than 
that of the college. 

The faculty of the preparatory school was always a strong 
one. In the early days many of the subjects of its course were 
taught by the professors of the college faculty, and during its 
forty-five years the languages and the various sciences were 
always taught by specialists. This had its effect, not only 
upon the scholastic attainments, but also upon the character of 
those in attendance. 

In the summer of 1913, in connection with a proposed 



164 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

charter for the City of Akron, the trustees of Buchtel College 
offered to turn over the property* endowments, and good will 
of the institution to the city as the basis of a municipal uni- 
versity to be owned and controlled by the city and supported 
by taxation. This grant was accepted under ordinance of the 
city council and December 15, 1913, Buchtel College became 
the Municipal University of Akron. Under the state law 
governing municipal colleges and universities, the Academy 
must be discontinued, as it was duplicating the work the city 
was already supporting in its high schools. 

Accordingly, the last regular graduating exercises of Buch- 
tel Academy were those of June, 1914. But on account of 
the difficulty of doing justice to all the class of 1915 by send- 
ing them to other schools, it was decided to provide as many 
as wished with instructors from the college faculty cind permit 
them to finish their course as students of the Academy. This 
was done, and on June 1 6th, 1915, thirteen young people re- 
ceived the last diplomas given by Buchtel Academy, and the 
preparatory department of Buchtel College thus closed an 
honorable history. 



CHAPTER X 
THE FACULTY AND THE CURRICULUM 

THE college of fifty years ago is a thing so apart from 
the modern conception of a college that it must be 
literally translated into present-day terms in order to 
be comprehended. Faculty, students, curriculum — all have 
been so wonderfully changed by the passage of time that they 
seem as unfamiliar and remote as well-known scenes viewed 
through opera glasses reversed. No man can point to any 
specific time within the half-century and say: "Here the 
change took place." Rather is our present state the result of 
a myriad of evolutional influences existent through a long 
period of time, and the resulting progress has been as steady 
and as inevitable as the movement of a clock hand. Clock 
hands, however, move in a circle, and here the analogy, let 
us hope, ends. 

The Buchtel of the early seventies was a worthy representa- 
tive of the college type of its day. The wall between town 
and gown stood still unshaken, a wall which for many years 
prevented the proper development of the entente cordiale be- 
tween college and community. A college education was a 
most portentous thing in these early days and its pursuit ex- 
posed the individual upon a not entirely enviable pinnacle to 
the admiration of the initiate and the open derision of the 
Philistine. The physical provisions for higher education nearly 
everywhere were incredibly meager and the mental viewpoint 
as exhibited in the curriculum alas often equally illiberal. For 
the sake of comparison the following extracts are quoted from 
Professor Brander Matthews* account of his student days at 
Columbia at about the same period {Columbia University 
Quarterly, March. 1917): 



166 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"For us the college was only a continuation of the school we 
had just left, with no larger opportunity and with no change in the 
method of instruction. The program of studies was rigidly re- 
stricted and it did not vary year after year. The whole under- 
graduate body was required to attend chapel at a quarter before 
ten; and there we found awaiting us the entire faculty, which con- 
sisted then of only seven professors. At ten our solid class went 
to its first recitation ; at eleven it moved on for another ; at twelve 
it presented itself before a third professor; and at one we were 
free for the rest of the day. When I say that we went to three 
recitations a day, I mean it; we recited exactly as we had done 
in school. We were expected to prepare so many lines of Latin 
and Greek, or so many problems in mathematics, or so many 
pages of the textbook in logic or in political economy; and in the 
classroom we were severally called upon to disgorge this undigested 
information. And it was information that we were expected to 
acquire, rather than the ability to turn this to account and to 
think for ourselves. 

"We were rarely encouraged to go outside the textbook; and 
no collateral reading was either required or suggested. We were 
not urged to use the library; indeed, it might be asserted that any 
utilization of its few books was almost discouraged. The library 
was open only for one or two hours a day after one o'clock, when 
most of us had gone home for our luncheons. I for one never 
climbed its stairs to avail myself of its carefully guarded treasures; 
and I doubt if any one of my classmates was more daring in 
adventuring himself within its austere walls, lined with glazed 
cases all cautiously locked. It contained less than fifteen thou- 
sand volumes; and it possessed no book which the grave and 
learned custodian had not personally examined to make sure that 
it was fit reading for youths of our tender years. This scrupulous 
librarian was allowed a sum of one thousand dollars a year for 
the increase of his collection; and he purchased only the very few 
volumes which he felt to be absolutely necessary, taking great 
pride in returning to the treasury of the college as large an unex- 
pended balance as might be possible." 

Probably this is a fair picture of conditions at most colleges 
fifty years ago. The broadening influences of the elective 
system were not yet astir in the land, and the curriculum was 
rigidly built up upon an unyielding foundation of mathematics 
and the classics. President Eliot says (University Adminis- 
tration, pp. 1 74-ff ) : 

"Methods of university instruction have changed almost com- 
pletely within fifty years. The method of recitation from a book 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 167 

is almost extinct, except in language instruction; the lecture 
method, after being greatly expanded, has been subsequently re- 
duced quantitatively, and much changed in quality; the labor- 
atory method with its congeners has been introduced, and now 
occupies a large part of the field; and the demand made on the 
student for written work of many sorts — themes, note-books, 
problems, reports, and theses — has become incessant. . . . The 
prime object of university methods of teaching today is to make 
the individual student think, and to do something himself, and 
not merely to take in and remember other people's thoughts; to 
induce the student to do some thinking and acting on his own 
account, and not merely to hear or read about other people's 
doings." 

One turns with reverence to the early records of Buchtel 
College, filled though they are with the spirit of an education 
whose methods the present day terms narrow. Yet what 
nobler aim could education have than that contained in the 
eloquent words of Horace Greeley, who, speaking at the lay- 
ing of the cornerstone on July 4, 1871, said: 

"Hence, the higher education of our day — most wisely in 
purpose, if not always in methods — essays to base its institutes 
and processes on Religion, and to ground the character it seeks 
to form on the firm foundation of Christian Faith and Love. It 
realizes that the youth is but half educated at best whose intellect 
is developed and instructed while his moral sense remains dormant, 
his conscience asleep if not perverted." 

From the first, Buchtel arrayed herself on the side of pro- 
gressive education, little understood though the term was in 
that day. The keynote of her existence seems to have been 
fitly struck in the Catalogue of the Officers and Status of 
Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, For the First Academic Year, 
1872: 

"It is the purpose of its Trustees and friends to make it a 
First-Class College, offering to students of both sexes equal oppor- 
tunities for a thorough, practical, and liberal education. They 
welcome the fact as auspicious that the leading colleges in our 
land are endeavoring to raise the standard of liberal learning. It 
will be the aim of Buchtel College to be faithful in this noble 
work of promoting sound scholarship and refined culture — to be- 
come indeed an Institution of Arts and Letters, where the highest 
type of mental instruction and moral training will be imparted." 



168 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

On Wednesday, September 1 1 th, 1 872. students and 
faculty found their way to their classes among the carpenters' 
benches and shavings of a still unfinished building, the first 
recitation in the new institution being conducted by Professor 
Carl F. Kolbe on that day. The Catalogue for the First 
Academic Year mentioned above seems to have been issued 
as a preliminary document to the opening of the institution, 
since it contains, besides the name of President McCollester, 
only a few faculty appointments: 

FACULTY 

Rev. Sullivan H. McCollester. A. M.. 

President 

Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy 

Nehemiah White, A. M., 

Professor of Ancient Languages 



Professor of Natural Science 

Professor of Mathematics 

Carl F. Kolbe. 

Professor of Modern Languages 



Teacher of Ancient Languages 

Teacher in Enghsh Branches 

Miss Hattie Louden. 

Professor of Music 

Teacher of Ornamental Branches 



Professor of Elocution 

Miss Kate Neiber 

Matron 

With this small beginning a rather extensive program of 
instruction is announced, namely : 

"First. A complete college course of four years, equal to that 
of the best Classic Institutions in the country. 

Second. A thorough Philosophical Course of two years. 

Third. A Normal Course, to meet the demands of scholars 
wishing to prepare themselves for successful teachers. 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 169 

Fourth. A Preparatory Course, to fit students for college, and 

afford them useful Academic instruction." 

How admirable the spirit of these pioneers and how little 
they comprehended the difficulties before them! With a still 
unfinished building, with a meager endowment and with only 
two or three definite faculty appointments, plans were already 
advertised for preparatory, normal, and "philosophical" 
courses in addition to a four-year college course "equal to that 
of the best classic Institutions in the country." To our present- 
day minds there is something almost epic in this great de- 
nominational crusade of the nineteenth century for knowledge 
— a crusade which has left behind it so many wrecks and so 
many records of attainment ! 

Thus, with a president and but few professors, Buchtel 
opened her doors half a century ago. During the first school 
year another catalog was published, and here appear all the 
names of the first faculty, excepting only that of the "Teacher 
in Ornamental Branches," which position still awaited an 
incumbent doubtless too gifted for any possibility of immediate 
discovery. In addition to the names already listed, appear 
those of S. F. Peckham, A. M., Professor of Natural 
Sciences; Miss H. F. Spalding, L. A., Professor of Rhetoric 
and English Literature; Alfred Welsh, A. B., Professor of 
Mathematics; H. D. Persons, Professor in Normal Depart- 
ment; Gustavus Sigel, Professor of Music, and Miss Hattie 
L. Lowdan (no longer "Louden," and translated to a new 
field of activity), teacher in English. 

There seems to have been no disposition in the earlier days 
to distinguish sharply between departments of instruction or 
even the various courses or departments of the institution. The 
catalog for 1872-3 does, it is true, list the students in a classi- 
cal course, a philosophical course, an academical department, 
a normal course and an "Irregular" course (which contained 
greater numbers than any other), but probably these distinc- 
tions were no more closely drawn than was the standard of 



170 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

accuracy which reports (in the same catalog) a "total" of 

463 students as follows: 

First Term 139 

Second Term 163 

Third Term 161 

Total 463 

For many years no effort was made in the published catalog 
of the College to outline separately the work of the various 
departments of instruction. Without doubt the initial necessity 
for constant shifts and changes in subject matter and teachers 
is largely responsible for this condition. Out of chaos, how- 
ever, there begin to appear gradually the fixed standards of 
departmental organization. The catalog for 1885 is the first 
to give a "Summary of Instruction by Departments"; here 
are recognized the following departmental units: physical 
science; Greek; modern languages; English literature; mathe- 
matics ; mental and moral philosophy ; political science ; natural 
science; Latin; and law. An attempt will be made a little 
later in this chapter to outline the development of each of these 
and to give due credit to those teachers whose efforts have 
furthered that development. First, however, will be consid- 
ered the development of the curriculum as a whole — a develop- 
ment which falls naturally into the following periods : 

1 . The Period of the Prescribed Curriculum 

2. The Period of the Elective System 

3. The Period of Expansion 

The early years of Buchtel College are marked by an ex- 
treme of simplicity hard to realize in this modern period of 
costly equipment and diversified courses of study. There was, 
of course, only the original building on the campus, a building 
which ministered to all the educational and physical needs of 
students and instructors. The approximation to the so-called 
"boarding school type" is obvious, although this is by no means 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 171 

to be construed in derogation of the curriculum, which com- 
pared most advantageously with the standard of the day. 
Scientific and library equipment was of but modest preten- 
sions, as is shown by the following excerpts from the second 
catalog: "By the liberal donation of General L. V. Bierce, 
of Akron, and other friends of the college, an elegant and 
spacious room has been fitted up for a library. It has already 
been furnished with many volumes of valuable books. It has 
space for still more." Or, again, "The College owns a good 
Philosophical and Chemical Apparatus, of the latest and 
most approved kind. A valuable cabinet of minerals is being 
furnished the College." Not until several years later is there 
mention of a laboratory in which this "Apparatus" may be 
used by students. 

The entrance requirements of the early seventies were based 
upon the three-year secondary school course of the period, and 
included a considerable quantity of Greek with about the 
same amount of Latin now commonly studied in the four-year 
high school course. In addition there was a requirement in 
mathematics of arithmetic and of algebra to equations of the 
second degree, but no geometry was specified. Under the 
heading of English came English grammar; history of the 
United States; modern and ancient geography. The unit sys- 
tem of measuring credit was still unknown, and no further 
requirements were made in addition to those just mentioned. 
Admission seems to have been by examination only. 

Probably during these years every student who applied was 
admitted to some department of the institution. In fact, the 
establishment of a preparatory course and a normal course 
evidently signifies a desire to serve all who came. Those who 
might not be herein contained were assigned to a so-called 
irregular course, which boasted an enrollment of eighty-one 
students out of a total of 2 1 7 in all departments during the 
first year of the College. We are here concerned chiefly with 



172 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the collegiate courses, ivhich were at first two in number, a 
four-year classical course and a two-year philosophical course. 
A year later a three-year scientific course was added. The 
elective system in our present use of the term was unknown. A 
student desiring to obtain a degree was required to take cer- 
tain definitely prescribed studies with practically no choice on 
his own part. The inevitable reaction on the part of the 
students against this program was met by the establishment of 
a rule for so-called "Elective Courses," whereby "students not 
desiring to pursue any of the regular courses specified may 
select such studies as they please from those being pursued by 
regular classes, and on leaving College will receive Certificates 
of rank and advancement made." While this is by no means 
to be confused with the elective system later established, it 
represents a concession to the more liberal views which even- 
tually prompted its adoption. 

The Buchtel freshman of fifty years ago studied Greek, 
Latin, algebra, physiology or botany, and declamation. Dur- 
ing the second year geometry, trigonometry, and analytical 
geometry took the place of algebra in a curriculum otherwise 
unchanged. The junior year gave the opportunity to substi- 
tute French for the classics, and included also chemistry, 
rhetoric, and calculus during the first semester. The rest of the 
course carried the student through mostly short periods of such 
diversified subjects as German, natural philosophy, mechanics, 
geology, surveying, intellectual philosophy, English literature, 
astronomy, political economy, logic, "moral science," history 
of civilization, etc. The only elective lay in the choice be- 
tween classical and modern languages in the last two years. 
All else was required. The two-year philosophical course, 
soon extended to three years, omitted the classics and sub- 
stituted German or French, and the scientific course prescribed 
Latin but no Greek with a maximum of natural science. 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 173 

Such was the course of study in the earUest days of Buchtel 
College. It varied but Httle for a number of years until the 
influence of the elective system, inaugurated and developed at 
Harvard during the seventies, began to make itself felt 
throughout the middle west in the early eighties. The Buchtel 
to which Doctor Orello Cone came as president in 1880 was 
still the Buchtel of the seventies with studies rigidly prescribed. 
That elective studies were still regarded with suspicion is evi- 
dent from the following passage from President Cone's in- 
augural address: 

"Out of this utilitarian sentiment arises indifference to educa- 
tion, then direct opposition to it on the ground of its expense. 
Out of it springs, too, the disposition to get as Httle education as 
is consistent with making a fair show in society, and getting along 
in the world. Hence the tendency to take elective studies and 
rush through the work of education, as if economy of time were 
of paramount importance to an immortal soul, that has all eternity 
before it!" 

The first tendency toward the elective system is discernible 
not more than two years after these words had been spoken, 
yet it marks only the entering wedge when we learn from the 
catalog for 1882-3 that after the first term of the sophomore 
year the student was allowed to choose four out of a total of 
five or six studies offered. To mark this privilege there appears 
the significant footnote: "courses elective from this point," 
Just why the beginning of the second third of the sophomore 
year was chosen as the dividing line is not clear. At any rate, 
tradition preserved it as the starting point of the elective 
privilege for nearly twenty years until, in 1900, the three- 
term system was discarded for the semester plan, and the 
final concession was made to the elective system by the sub- 
stitution of the semester hour for the course as the basis of 
reckoning credit toward graduation. The gradual progress 
of this important evolution and the faculty attitude toward it 
may be best described by quotation from the catalogs of vari- 
ous years : 



174 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

1882-3, "Courses elective from this point" (footnote to course 
of study). 

1884-5, "All the studies of the Freshman year and those of 
the first term of the Sophomore year are required. From the 
second term of the Sophomore year to the end of the courses, all 
the studies are elective, each student being expected to choose 
four." 

1887-8, "By means of this (the elective) system, applying as 
it does to the latter two-thirds of the course, the professors are 
enabled to extend each department of work considerably beyond 
the limitations of the ordinary college curriculum, and students 
are enabled to follow out those lines of advanced study most 
congenial to them. The experience of several years has proved 
this method to be satisfactory and successful." 

1899-1900, "Following the trend of schools of higher learn- 
ing, Buchtel College offers opportunities for extensive elective 
work, etc." 

Meanwhile the philosophical course, first inaugurated on the 
two-year basis, and the scientific course, originally covering 
three years, had both been lengthened in 1875 to equal the 
four-year classical course, and these three courses were carried 
on for over forty years, until in 1916 the philosophical course 
was discontinued and only the degrees of B. A. and B. S. 
were conferred. 

The beginning of the modern period of Buchtel's curricular 
history may be marked approximately by the beginning of the 
new century. The fire which destroyed the old building on 
December 20, 1 899, marked the end of an era not only from 
the standpoint of physical equipment, but also in the more in- 
tangible realm of educational conditions. As we have already 
seen, the same period marked the final triumph of the elective 
system in the establishment of the semester hour as the basis 
of accrediting work. It witnessed also the beginning of the 
disintegration of that group of faculty members and trustees 
whose lives and works are synonymous with the older Buchtel. 
The catalog for 1897-8 still contains the names of Knight, 
Kolbe, Bates, Claypole, Egbert, Parsons, Gifford and Stock- 
man. On the Board of Trustees were such old friends of the 
institution as Grouse, Slade, Schumacher, Tibbals and Will- 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 175 

son. Within the next few years one by one these names be- 
gan to disappear until, less than ten years later, only Knight, 
of the faculty, remained. During the five-year period after 
the resignation of President Cone in 1896, the College ex- 
perienced a succession of three incumbents in the presidency 
— Knight (ad interim). Priest, and Church. All these 
changes, not to mention the material loss in the burning of the 
old main building, naturally served to produce a period of 
general depression which was faithfully mirrored in reduced 
student attendance and in serious financial conditions. The 
year 1 903-4, with a total of only 63 students in college, seems 
to have marked the lowest ebb. In spite of these unfavorable 
manifestations, however, the modern period which, in its latter 
part, was marked by the extension of the curriculum, may be 
said to have begun with the election of Doctor A. B. Church 
to the presidency in 1901. A man of highest character, of 
hearty, lovable disposition, with a keen interest in his fellow 
men and a sympathetic understanding of their affairs. Presi- 
dent Church soon assumed a leading place in the activities of 
the city and thus did much to lay a foundation of appreciation 
for the work of Buchtel College among the citizens of Akron. 
Upon this foundation it was possible in later years to build 
up the structure of the Municipal University. It was char- 
acteristic of President Church that he realized from the first 
the community of interest between city and college and, even 
in the earlier years of his administration, began to visualize the 
possibilities of a relation between the two. 

The curriculum during the administration of President 
Church labored under the handicaps imposed by a changing 
(and not all too large) faculty and the lack of sufficient equip- 
ment in the scientific branches. The latter condition was ma- 
terially improved by the erection of the Knight Chemical 
Laboratory in 1908. In spite of all difficulties, much was 
accomplished during President Church's administration in 



176 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

strengthening the curriculum and lifting the stzmdards of the 
institution. Most important was unquestionably the increasing 
of the curriculum of Buchtel Academy from a three-year to a 
four-year course in 1903, and the consequent enforcement of 
a strict standard of four years of secondary school work for 
entrance to college. During this period the department of 
music, the courses for teachers in Buchtel Academy, and the 
Art School were dropped, evidently with an idea of concen- 
trating more and more upon the strictly legitimate fields of 
secondary and collegiate training. It is significant that certain 
efforts were beginning to be made to adapt courses to the needs 
of the community, as, for example, the establishment of a 
short-lived "commercial school" and the institution of a course 
in rubber chemistry, first specifically mentioned in the catalog 
for 1909-10, and destined to be the forerunner of important 
co-operative activities in the next decade to come. 

The expansion of the curriculum under the new lease of 
life gained by the development of the municipal university 
plan in 1913 is of so recent date as to be familiar to all. The 
development of the institution itself sprang directly from the 
factors of increased attendance and ampler income. Both 
were due to the realization by Akron citizens that the institu- 
tion had now become their own, and to the earnest efforts of 
the Board of Directors and the faculty to fulfil to the utmost 
their obligations to the community. December 15, 1913, is 
the commonly accepted date for the establishment of the 
Municipal University of Akron, since on that day Mayor 
Rockwell officially appointed the members of the new Board 
of Directors of the University, thus performing the last act 
necessary to the taking over of the institution by the city.* 

The effect on the curriculum became immediately apparent. 
Plans were laid at once for the establishment of a College of 

*This date is commemorated on the neio seal which represents the old seal of 
Buchtel college in combination with the words "Municipal University of Akron, 
Ohio, established Dec. 15, 1913." 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 177 

Engineering on the co-operative plan, and Fred E. Ayer, 
assistant-professor of civil engineering at the University of Cin- 
cinnati, was called as dean of the new college. The choice 
was particularly happy, since Dean Ayer had been associated 
with Dean Herman Schneider of the College of Engineering 
at the University of Cincinnati almost from the beginning of 
the Cincinnati engineering college. Later two other men were 
called from Cincinnati, Mr. J. S. Mathewson as instructor in 
mechanical engineering, and Mr. Max B. Robinson, as pro- 
fessor in the same subject. Thus the Engineering College at 
Akron was built on the "Cincinnati plan" by Cincinnati men. 
In 1917 an engineering laboratory was added to its equip- 
ment, made possible by a bond issue by the city in the sum 
of $50,000. The effect of the institution of co-operative engi- 
neering training was beneficial in several ways: it served ad- 
mirably the needs of a growing industrial city ; it helped prove 
to the citizens the practical value of the newly-acquired col- 
lege, and, most important of all, it served to link up more 
closely than ever before the great industrial and business ac- 
tivities of the city with the Municipal University. 

The Curtis School of Home Economics was established in 
Curtis Cottage in the fall of 1914 under the direction of 
Miss Sarah E. Stimmel, formerly instructor in the Ohio State 
University. Although established at once on the four-year 
basis, it graduated its first two students in June, 1916, the 
previous training of the women in question permitting the com- 
pletion of the course in two years. The Curtis School has 
from the first sought to maintain a maximum of extra-curricular 
activities throughout the city, and has served as a valuable 
bond between the University and its constituency. 

In addition to the establishment of the two new schools just 
mentioned, a powerful influence was exerted upon the 
scholastic life of the institution by the completion in 1916 of 
the new Carl F. Kolbe Hall, in which the Bierce Library is 



178 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

now housed. The use of an ample, modern, Hbrary building 
undoubtedly did much to improve the standards of work and 
allowed numerous improvements in the curriculum. 

The Evening College began its activities in the winter of 
1915-6 under the title of "Late Afternoon and Evening 
Courses." During the first year most of the recitations were 
held from 5:00 to 6:00 P. M., but experience soon proved 
the advisability of changing to an evening hour. Under the 
direction of Professor Lockner and later of Professor Sim- 
mons as director of evening courses, the Evening College has 
grown to be an important part of the University's work. 
Courses are offered in nearly every department, and students 
come from every class of Akron's citizenship. The establish- 
ment in 1 9 1 8 of night high schools by the Board of Education 
should do much to promote the growth of the Evening College. 

The development of the curriculum may be indicated by 
comparative figures showing growth of faculty and student 
body. Buchtel Academy, formerly known as the preparatory 
department, was discontinued on the establishment of the Mu- 
nicipal University; hence figures in the following table refer 
only to students of collegiate grade. In every case the numbers 
refer to full-time students. For this purpose, five evening col- 
lege students are estimated as equal to one full-time student : 



Remarks 
This faculty taught also 171 preparatory 

students 
This faculty taught also 148 preparatory 

students 
This faculty taught also 134 preparatory 

students 
This faculty taught also 129 preparatory 

students 
Includes no instructors in Academy 
397 full-time students 
300 evening college students, reckoned as 

equal to 60 full-time students 
1920 41 645 555 full-time students 

449 evening college students, reckoned as 

equal to 90 full-time students 



Year 


Total 
college 
faculty 


Total 
college 
students 


1872 


8 


46 


1882 


12 


54 


1892 


15 


105 


1902 


14 


82 


1912 
1918 


15 
33 


175 
457 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 179 

It is an interesting study in college development to trace the 
origin and vicissitudes of the present departments of instruction 
and to name over the teachers who have helped make Buchtel 
history. The original collegiate departments of the Buchtel 
of 1872 were: mental and moral philosophy, ancient lan- 
guages, natural science, English literature, modern languages, 
and mathematics. The work in philosophy remained for many 
years the duty of the president himself. Thus one notes as 
active in this work the well-known names of McCollester, Rex- 
ford, Cone, Priest, and Church, all holding the Messenger 
Professorship of Mental and Moral Philosophy. The present 
holder of this professorship, Oscar E. Olin, is the sixth in 
succession and the first faculty member, other than the presi- 
dent, to function in this capacity. Three other professorships 
were established during the second year of the College's exis- 
tence: the Elizabeth Buchtel Professorship of Rhetoric and 
English Literature; the Hilton Professorship of Modern Lan- 
guages; and the Chloe Pierce Professorship of Natural 
Science. Early in the eighties the Pierce Professorship, whose 
endowment had been contributed entirely by women and which 
was then known as the "woman's professorship," was bestowed 
upon Miss Maria Parsons, professor of English, the only 
woman on the college faculty, and from that time on, by 
common consent, the Pierce Professorship remained in the 
English department and the Buchtel Professorship replaced 
it in the department of natural science and, later, of chemistry. 

The department of ancient languages was first administered 
by Nehemiah White, a member of the original faculty. Pro- 
fessor White gave all instruction in Latin and Greek, in col- 
lege and preparatory school for the first year, until relieved in 
the preparatory school work by Miss Mary Stockman. The 
early years show the names of Wallace Mayo, I. B. Choate, 
George Peckham, and Benjamin T. Jones as active in this 
department. In 1882 the work was divided, William D. 



180 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Shipman becoming professor of Greek and Charles C. Bates 
professor of Latin, an arrangement which continued until the 
middle of the nineties, when the departments were again com- 
bined under Professor Bates. Some six years later Professor 
Bates was succeeded by Joseph C. Rockwell, who is still in 
office. 

As the demand for the classics decreased, the study of the 
modern languages grew. Carl F. Kolbe taught both German 
and French for a period of thirty-three years, from the begin- 
ning of the College until his death in 1905, with the exception 
of a one year's leave of absence when the work was carried 
on by G. H. G. McGrew. He was followed by his son, 
Parke R. Kolbe, who taught both languages until the creation 
of a department of romance languages in 1908, In 1910 
P. R. Kolbe's place was filled for the period of a two-year 
leave of absence by Charles Bulger, who was later made head 
of the department of German. The German department is 
unusual in the fact that it has had but three heads during the 
period of half a century, and that the two successors of Carl 
F. Kolbe were in both cases his own students. When the 
student numbers began to increase after the establishment of 
the Municipal University, an instructor was added in the 
person of Edward von Janinski, who resigned before the en- 
trance of the United States into the war. Meanwhile, due to 
war conditions, the work in romance languages increased 
greatly. The first head of the department. Miss Sarah de M. 
Plaisance, was succeeded in 1913 by Miss M. Alice Rines 
(now Mrs. Fred A. Hitchcock). On the resignation of Mrs. 
Hitchcock in 1919 the departments of romance languages and 
German were united as the department of modern languages 
with Professor Bulger as head, and Miss Katherine M. Reed 
was called as assistant-professor of romance languages. 

The original department of natural science was headed by 
S. F. Peckham. Among its early instructors were Sarah M. 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 181 

Glazier and Alfred Welsh. In 1875 came a man whom all 
Buchtel students love to honor, Charles M. Knight, destined 
to remain in active service until 1913, when he retired as pro- 
fessor-emeritus of chemistry. In January, 1884, there came 
to Buchtel that scholar of international renown, Edward W. 
Claypole, who assumed the work in biological science, leav- 
ing to Professor Knight the department of chemistry and 
physics. In 1 907 the work of the department was confined to 
chemistry alone, and the work in physics was taught in the 
department of mathematics until the creation of a department 
of physics in 1918 under Professor F, F. Householder. Upon 
Doctor Knight's retirement H. E. Simmons became head of 
the department of chemistry, which has grown considerably 
in size under his direction. With him have been associated, 
at various times, Hardgrove, Jackson, Zimmerli, Van Doren, 
Sibley, and Schmidt as assistant-professors, besides numerous 
instructors and graduate-assistants. Two extensions of the 
curriculum are especially worthy of note. The course in rub- 
ber chemistry has been strengthened by the purchase of much 
modern equipment and is gaining an international reputation 
as the only college training course for rubber chemistry in exis- 
tence. In co-operation with this work, fellowships in rubber 
chemistry have been established at the University by two of 
the large Akron rubber companies.* 

A second line of co-operation has been developed by the 
activity of assistant-professor Hardgrove as director of the 
Bureau of City Tests. His entire time is devoted to this work, 
and all chemical and physical testing for the city is done at 
the Knight Chemical Laboratory. 

At the coming of Doctor Claypole to Buchtel, the work in 
biology was organized as a separate department. The pio- 

*Further co-operation with the University has been given by the four leading 
rubber companies by the establishment on their part of twenty-five scholarships in 
manufacturing production at the Engineering College, and by the free use of their 
facilities in the University's training plan for vulcanizers and tire repairmen in the 
United States Army. 



182 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

neer efforts of Doctor Claypole in this department will never 
be forgotten, although most of his fine collections were lost in 
the fire of 1 899. In 1 897 the failing health of his wife caused 
his removal to California, and he was followed at Buchtel by 
S. P. Orth, who was in turn succeeded five years later by 
Charles Brookover. Professor Brookover, a thorough student 
and teacher, with a well-developed interest in research, main- 
tained in the department all the best traditions of its founder. 
Professor Claypole. Unfortunately for Buchtel, he was called 
to another position in 1913. His successor. Doctor Emily 
Ray Gregory, served only two years, and gave way to the 
present head of the department. Professor A. B. Plowman, 
who, by his untiring efforts as a teacher and his interest in co- 
operative activities with the Board of Health, the hospitals, 
and various other local agencies, has made the department an 
unusually efficient unit of the University. 

The first head of the department of English (then called 
the department of rhetoric and English literature) was Miss 
Helen F. Spalding, who remained in office for three years. 
From 1876 to 1879 inclusive the catalogs leave blank the 
space reserved for the name of the head of the department, 
work in English during this period being carried on by Miss 
Susie Chamberlain, at first as tutor and finally as adjunct-pro- 
fessor. Miss Chamberlain, class of '73, seems to have been 
the first graduate of Buchtel to become a member of the col- 
lege faculty. She was joined soon by W. D. Shipman, '77, 
and G. A. Peckham, '75. The second head of the de- 
partment was Benjamin T. Jones, who was soon replaced 
by a woman whose personality has impressed itself deeply 
on Buchtel students. Miss Maria Parsons, who served 
as head of the department from 1 880 to 1 884 and again from 
1897 to 1905. During the interval between Miss Parsons' 
periods of service appear the familiar names of Mary B. 
Jewett and Ellen E. Garrigues. The Pierce professorship of 



FACULTY ANDCURRICULUM 183 

English was filled at Miss Parsons' retirement in 1905 by the 
appointment of Albert I. Spanton, Buchtel, '99. Professor 
Spanton was chosen dean of the College of Liberal Arts a 
short time before the establishment of the Municipal Univer- 
sity, retaining at the same time, however, his headship of the 
English department. In 1912 Frank D. Sturtevant was added 
to the department as assistant-professor. The sudden death 
of Professor Sturtevant in January, 1 920, was a great loss not 
only to the English department but to the entire teaching staff. 
Earl B. Howe came as instructor in 1919. 

The first professor of mathematics in Buchtel College was 
Alfred Welsh, followed in 1 874 by Elias Fraunfelter. Pro- 
fessor Fraunfelter was elected city superintendent of schools 
in 1883, his successors being George S. Ely (for one year) 
and in 1 884 Charles S. Howe, who had been adjunct-professor 
under Professor Ely. Professor Howe was the first holder 
of the Ainsworth professorship of mathematics and astronomy. 
With Professor Howe was associated for a little over a year 
in the late eighties Tracy L. Jeffords as adjunct-professor. In 
1 889 Professor Howe was called to Case School of Applied 
Science, of which he is now president. He was followed by 
Hermas V. Egbert, whose period of service in the department 
is longer than that of any other man: 1889-1903, and again 
from 1917 to the present time. No other department of the 
College has had so many changes as have occurred in the 
department of mathematics. Following Professor Egbert as 
heads of the department came Morrison, Sherk, Biefeld, 
Holder, and Lockner. Professor Lockner was succeeded by 
Max Morris as acting-head, and on Morris' resignation in the 
spring of 1 920 John L. Jones became head of the department. 
For many years Secretary C. R. Olin has been assistant-pro- 
fessor of mathematics, and his continuance in this position has 
done much to stabilize the department during its many changes. 
Among the various instructors in mathematics should be named 



184 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Susie Chamberlain, G. A. Peckham, J. H. Aydelotte, Philip 
G. Wright, Willard Van Orman, J. W. Sleppey, Clarence 
R. Weed, Dean Ober, R. W. Evans, and John Bulger. 
With the coming of Doctor Biefeld the work in physics was 
added to that of the department of mathematics, and was car- 
ried on there under Holder and Lockner until a separate de- 
partment of physics was established in 1918 under Professor 
F. F. Householder. 

The catalog for 1885, which contains the first "Summary 
of Instruction by Departments," shows but little extension of 
the curriculum beyond the work undertaken at the founding of 
the College. A course in political science, taught by Presi- 
dent Cone, indicates the beginnings of instructions in a branch 
which even the development of today has unfortunately never 
raised to the importance of a separate department. Some in- 
struction was also given by A. B. Tinker in law and civil 
government. In the College of Liberal Arts departmental 
growth has come about by the division of already existing de- 
partments, rather than by the creation of entirely new ones, as, 
for example, the division of modern languages into German 
and romance languages, and the division of natural sciences 
into chemistry, biology, physics, etc. For one branch of work, 
however, a new professorship was created, mention of which 
first appears in the catalog for 1 892, the Ryder Professorship 
of Rhetoric and Oratory. Its first incumbent was L. Alonzo 
Butterfield, although work in this branch had previously been 
given by Susie Chamberlain, Ada Mariner, and Cecil Harper. 
Professor Butterfield served until the middle of the nineties, at 
which time the use of the Ryder professorship was discon- 
tinued. For a short time the work was carried on by Pro- 
fessor Garrigues of the English department and her mother, 
Mrs. A. M. Garrigues, and then by Miss Elmie Warner. 
After Miss Warner came Carita McEbright, Maude Hemdon, 
Maude Carothers, Anna M. Ray, Louise Forsythe, Katherine 



FACULTY AND CURRICULUM 183 

Merrill, and again Miss McEbright, the present instructor in 
oratory. 

Work in history was carried on for many years in connec- 
tion with the department of English and, during the early 
years of the present century, by Professor O. E. Olin of the 
department of philosophy. In 1914 a department of history 
was created under Professor Elizabeth A. Thompson, dean 
of women, whose life-long service in the teaching of history in 
the Akron public school system, in Buchtel Academy, and 
in Buchtel College, well merited the appointment. 

Of the original faculty of Buchtel College, only one remains 
in Akron, Gustavus Sigel, professor of music, who is prob- 
ably the only living representative of that little body of men 
and women who taught at the opening of Buchtel fifty years 
ago. Several persons have had long records of conspicuous 
service on the faculty. Among them are: Charles M. 
Knight, with thirty-eight years of active service (1875-1913) ; 
Carl F. Kolbe, with thirty-three years of service ( 1 872- 
1905); William D. Shipman (1877-1895); Charles R. 
Olin, now secretary of the University and in its employ since 
1885; Charles C. Bates (1882-1902) ; Oscar E. Olin, since 
1898; Joseph C. Rockwell, since 1902; etc. Grateful men- 
tion must also be made of a number of teachers in the prepara- 
tory department who came in close contact with all students 
at Buchtel in the early days, as, for example, the Misses Gif- 
ford and Stockman, Miss Dora Merrill, and Miss Martha 
Bortle. 

The curriculum of Buchtel College has been from the first 
favorably comparable with that of other American colleges. 
It has developed with the various epochs of American higher 
education from a basis composed largely of classiccil and cul- 
tural studies to the inclusion of scientific and technical work 
of the highest grade. During the last twenty years a wave 
of college standardiz.ition has swept the country, due largely 



186. FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

to the initiative of the Carnegie Foundation and such agencies 
as the U. S. Bureau of Education and the North Central 
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. While still 
a privately supported institution, Buchtel was denied member- 
ship in the best standardizing organizations by reason of small 
endowment, although no fault could be found with the stand- 
ards of the institution in scholarship. The ampler income of 
the Municipal University ensured it recognition as a standard 
American college in every quarter. Thus it has during the 
last five years been admitted to membership in the North Cen- 
tral Association and, most difficult of all of attainment, to a 
place in the approved list of the Association of American 
Universities — a list composed of those American colleges 
whose baccalaureate degrees are certified by the Association 
as of standard value for recognition at European universities. 
And so, upon the basis of sound scholarship built up by the 
pioneer faculty of Buchtel, the new institution, with the sup- 
port and endorsement of a great and growing city, may well 
look forward to an honorable future. 



"And gladly wolde he lerne and 
gladly teche." 

— From Chaucer's description of the 
clerk (scholar) of Oxenford 
(Oxford). 



CHAPTER XI 
THE TEACHER 

NATURALLY there comes to mind the question, What 
are some of the essential qualities for the making of 
a great teacher? Without placing them in the order 
of greatest importance, one may suggest qualifications that are 
likely to win success: 

A thorough understanding of the subjects taught. 

The faculty to explain and illustrate, simply and clearly, 
principles and their applications. 

A sympathetic interest in young people and an insight to 
the character and motives of individual students. 

Patience, the poise of good judgment, and the ability, when 
one method of explanation fails to be understood, to change 
readily to another. 

Earnestness in manner and enthusiasm for the subjects 
taught. 

Forgetfulness of self in efforts for the welfare and progress 
of pupils. 

A broad vision and general culture in subjects even re- 
motely related to those taught. 

A candid and sincere character is necessary and an attractive 
personality is helpful to success. 

There is a charm about the personality of most great 
teachers that cannot be put into words. Some speak of it as 
a sort of magnetism, but it is made up of many small features. 
It may be just a glance of the eye, giving approval, or a slight 
smile showing commendation, or a shade of disappointment 
passing across the face, bearing an unspoken rebuke; it may 
be just a bit of humor or a flash of wit to relieve a tense situa- 
tion ; or, again, a slight change in the tone of voice that reveals 



THE TEACHER 189 

a hidden emotion. Are not these Httle touches, and many 
others hke them, flashes of Hght from the inner life we call 
the soul? 

Buchtel College was fortunate in her instructors. A few 

well deserve to be called great teachers, and several others, by 

reason of long service or rare teaching power, or both, made 

an unusually deep and lasting impression upon their students. 

PROFESSOR CARL F. KOLBE 

Professor Kolbe taught German and French for thirty- 
three years in Buchtel College, beginning his work with the 
opening of the College in 1 872. He has told of conducting the 
first recitation ever held at Buchtel, amid the din of saws and 
hammers in neighboring rooms of the unfinished building. 

The subjects he taught were popular, and his classes were 
large from the very beginning. Pupils are quick to recognize 
merit in a teacher, and his students realized that work under 
his guidance was worth while. Not all students take to learn- 
ing a foreign language readily, and Professor Kolbe was 
exacting in his requirements; but even those who failed ad- 
mitted that it was not due to any defect in the teaching. 

With young pupils, in classes beginning a language, he had 
a way of calling for the reciting in concert of the essential prin- 
ciples that made them stick in the memories of even the dullest. 
He required thorough work of his pupils. He was forceful 
in his teaching, using what are sometimes called drillmaster 
methods, and he certainly achieved results. He used, a great 
deal, written exercises on blackboard and paper, and made 
sure by written tests that the class as a whole was ready for 
a new advance. 

He never spared himself when it came to correcting work 
on paper handed in by his pupils. With his large classes and 
no assistant, this drudgery must have used many of the hours 
outside of classroom that a teacher should have for reading 
and recreation, but never was he heard to complain. Doctor 



190 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Kolbe was most loyal and faithful to his classes; his absence, 
even on account of illness, was a rare occurrence. 

His thorough training in classical lore made him a profit- 
able and charming teacher for advanced students in litera- 
tures. Drill methods could be dropped, and with a class of 
the best heads from lower classes electing to go forward, and 
all eager to learn the finer points and shades of meaning. 
Doctor Kolbe became an enthusiastic and inspiring companion, 
as well as guide, to each member of the class. If one should 
get the idea that Professor Kolbe, with his strict discipline in 
classes, was reserved and unbending outside the classroom, it 
would be an error. While always dignified, he was warmly 
cordial in his greetings. Courteous without flattery, he had 
poise, but was not cold or reserved. He made everyone feel 
that he was genuine all through, and sincere. He was "a 
gentleman of the old school" in its full meaning; he was never 
too hurried to be polite, and took pains to show a courteous 
bearing to everyone. His desire to add to the social pleasure 
of his pupils led him to organize and introduce the American- 
Franco-German (A. F. G.) picnic, which was an annual 
outing at some nearby lake-side or grove arranged for the 
pupils in his classes. The happy social side of Doctor Kolbe's 
nature shone at these gatherings, and under his leadership, 
aided by the efficiency of his good wife, these social occasions 
became very popular. 

Professor Kolbe was an excellent musician, and often 
served as musical critic for the city journals. His knowledge 
of this art made his services of value to the faculty, and he was 
chairman of a committee on music for many years and com- 
piled leaflets of songs to be used in chapel service. 

Doctor Kolbe was a very interesting story-teller, as those 
can testify who were fortunate enough to hear him narrate 
his experiences in German educational institutions, or tell of 
the thrilling incidents attending his life as leader of a military 



THE TEACHER 191 

band during the Civil War. He rarely spoke in public, but 
as editor of newspapers wrote a great deal and presented 
written addresses on many occasions. He was master of a 
clear, concise style that went straight to the point at issue. 

President White of Lombard University, Galesburg, Illi- 
nois, at one time a professor at Buchtel, knew the merits of 
Professor Kolbe, and that institution honored itself in con- 
ferring upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 

Carl F. Kolbe was born in the Province of Hanover, Ger- 
many, in 1 832. His father was a Lutheran minister, and his 
brother Herman was the eminent organic chemist. He was 
educated at Gottingen and the University of Marburg, and 
emigrated to America in 1852. He taught modern languages 
and music before and after our Civil War until appointed 
professor of modern languages at the opening of Buchtel Col- 
lege in 1872. Married late after years of a rather lonely life 
in boarding houses, he was ready for the appreciation and 
enjoyment of a home of his own. Those who were fortunate 
enough to enter that happy home remember how much Mrs. 
Kolbe brought to it, and how entertaining both host and hostess 
could be. Doctor Kolbe made intimate companions of his 
two sons, and they, in turn, adored their father. The younger 
followed in the scholarly paths his father marked out, and at 
the time of this writing, in the year 1920, is president of the 
University of Akron. 

Doctor Kolbe hardly ever spoke of retiring from service, 
but had been heard to say he hoped he might "die in the 
harness" — and he did; he dropped dead while walking from 
room to room in his home, having conducted classes up to the 
day of his death. His going left a great void in the faculty. 
He knew the past history of the College as did no one else. 
In the thirty years of the existence of the College, he was 
the first teacher who had died while serving her. After the 
service in the college chapel had been tenderly spoken and 



192 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the students had sung the songs he loved best, it was the 
hardest of tasks for his co-laborers to close up the ranks and 
go on without him, who had been a loved guide and com- 
panion for so many years. Near the site of his recitation 
room the new library building was erected in 1915, and is 
fittingly named "Carl F. Kolbe Hall." It stands as a monu- 
ment to the self-sacrificing work for Buchtel of one who 
justly deserves the honor of being her first professor. 
PROFESSOR ELIAS FRAUNFELTER 

Professor Fraunfelter was called to Buchtel in 1873 as 
teacher of applied mathematics and the following year was 
made the regular professor of pure and applied mathematics. 
He brought to his work a valuable experience in teaching in 
academies and public schools. 

In the ten years that he labored for Buchtel, he made his 
department, which is often considered dry and unattractive, 
one of the most popular and efficient in the institution. He 
was a "born teacher," bringing out from his pupils the best 
work of which they were capable. He never shunned hard 
work himself, and made his pupils ashamed to "take things 
easy." He assigned severe tasks; the term examinations he 
set were long and difficult, but such was the spirit of his 
students that they rather gloried in "the hard grind." 

While Professor Fraunfelter had an attractive appearance, 
he lacked grace of manner, being nervous in his movements 
and angular in gestures, but he had a most winning smile, and 
when he asked a favor one could not find the heart to say no. 

There was excellent discipline in his crowded classroom 
without any effort on his part. The atmosphere was charged 
with the spirit of earnest work, and inattention, or fun, seemed 
out of place. He was very fertile in expedients ; if one method 
of demonstration did not make a matter plain to all minds, he 
was ready with another, and he abounded in various "short 
cuts" in calculations. He was in the right work when teach- 



THE TEACHER 193 

ing mathematical principles, for he had a mind that loved 
precise methods; his thinking was clear, exact, and went 
straight forward to a definite end. In teaching various 
branches of mathematics, he seemed to get hold of the subjects 
by the right handle. He put a great deal of nervous energy 
into his teaching, and, not being very robust, would be ex- 
hausted by night, but always seemed to be recuperated for 
each new day. He did not dissipate his strength by going 
into many functions outside his college engagements. He did 
not seem to be especially interested in literature, or music, or 
any other art. Perhaps his devotion to the one rather narrow 
field explains, in a measure, his excellence in it. Hermon A. 
Kelley, of the class of '79, a prominent attorney of Cleveland, 
gives the following excellent estimate of Professor Fraunfelter 
as a man and a teacher : 

"Having attended a number of institutions of learning both 
in America and abroad, I am convinced that those having to 
do with the appointments to the faculties give most of their 
attention to mere learning, and often lose sight of those personal 
qualities vs'hich serve to stimulate the love of learning in others. 
There seems to be an impression that a man who knows a subject 
can teach it. Many a time have I left the lecture room of a 
celebrated professor wondering why it would not have done just 
as well to read what he had said from a textbook. 

"In most of our large eastern universities, professorships are 
held by men whose researches and writings shed luster upon their 
institutions, but whose personal influence upon the student body 
is negligible. The real work of teaching is done by assistants 
and instructors, few of whom possess any especial qualifications 
for their work beyond a possible cum laude attached to their 
degrees. The result is that larger numbers of students who need 
stimulation and guidance find themselves adrift on a sea of learn- 
ing, rudderless and often motorless. 

"The plain fact is that if teaching is not a lost art, it is at 
least a sadly neglected one. 

"I have been asked to state why Professor Fraunfelter had 
such a remarkable hold upon the student body of Buchtel Col- 
lege; why so many students of his day elected to the fullest 
extent possible a branch of study which is generally regarded 
as dry and difficult; and why those students who came under 
his influence have rarely failed to recognize throughout their lives 



194 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

that the most valuable training they received in college came from 
that same dry branch. 

"The answer is simple — Professor Fraunfelter was a great 
teacher. Indeed, I may say, without undervaluing the high qual- 
ities of many other men under whom I have studied, that he was 
the greatest teacher I have ever known. 

"Nobody, of course, could fail to recognize his ability and 
learning in the mathematical sciences. But this alone could not 
account for his remarkable power. 

"Whence that power came I do not know. Whether inborn 
or acquired, the big fact was that everybody felt it irresistibly. 
I have seen him stand for an hour demonstrating to a class which 
was stalled by some intricate problem in the calculus. As the 
demonstration proceeded, I have seen the members of the class 
sitting on the edges of their seats, leaning forward with an interest 
almost as eager as though they were Hstening to a tale from the 
Arabian Nights. And I have seen the professor at the end of the 
hour drop into his chair in physical exhaustion from the effort to 
give to us what was in him. 

"That is teaching. 

"The great teacher must be able through his personality to 
assume a compelling intellectual leadership. He must not simply 
know his subject; he must know his pupils. He must feel keenly 
and see clearly their difficulties. He must know how, sympa- 
thetically and interestingly, to dispel those difficulties. Above 
all, he must be willing and able to give not only the best that is in 
his subject, but what is even more important, the best that is in 
himself. 

"These great quahties of the teacher Professor Fraunfelter 
had. He was kindly and sympathetic, yet no one ever thought 
of imposing upon his kindliness or sympathy. The failure of a 
student in his class brought no spoken rebuke. In fact, the 
professor seemed somehow to take the blame of the failure upon 
himself. And the culprit's sense of responsibility was doubled 
by the teacher's generosity. But failures in his classes were rare 
occurrences. His wonderful power of exposition and his in- 
tensely personal leadership carried us through most of our diffi- 
culties, and at the same time inspired us to exertion that insured 
success. 

"His nature was gentle and sensitive, but he had a great re- 
serve of quiet force. That force he knew how to communicate to 
others. He was a true apostle of learning. 

"Professor Fraunfelter attached very little importance to the 
memorizing of demonstrations, but always commended original 
effort. Under the stimulus of his encouragement I remember 
spending over two weeks in working out some thirty or forty 
different proofs of the Pytliagorean Proposition in geometiy. 



THE TEACHER 195 

"Feeling as I do that education is discipline — that mere in- 
formation counts for little, while the power to deal with the prob- 
lems of life is everything — I attribute most of the small success 
I have had in this world to those men who taught me to think. 
Among these. Professor Fraunfelter — not the mathematician, but 
the man and the teacher — will always have my deepest gratitude 
and affection." 

Professor Fraunfelter occupied responsible places on faculty 
committees, such as Classification, Courses of Study, and Dis- 
cipline, and was prompt, efficient, and tireless in these duties. 
He usually carried his points in faculty discussion: while not 
dogmatic, he was persistent, and had a way of presenting his 
pleas by asking questions with such a winning smile and happy 
tone that it was easy to agree with him. 

One does not remember his writing or delivering public 
addresses, but often he taught in teachers' institutes, and for 
several years was one of the examining board for public school 
teachers. Professor Fraunfelter was in the Civil War, retiring 
with the rank of captain, and was an active and influential 
member of the Grand Army organization of Akron. He was 
given the degree of A. M. by Bethany College, and the 
Ph. D. degree by Lombard University. Professor Fraun- 
felter was overworked at Buchtel, as were his co-laborers; 
besides pure mathematics, he taught mechanics, surveying, and 
astronomy. In 1 883 he was elected to the superintendency of 
the Akron Public Schools, at an increased salary, and the 
College lost one of her prized teachers. 

PROFESSOR CHARLES M. KNIGHT 
Charles Mellen Knight, A. M., ScD., was born in Dum- 
merston, Vermont, in 1848. His boyhood was spent upon 
his father's farm in southern Vermont. When sixteen years 
old he left the farm to fit for college at an academy in 
Deering, Maine. 

His preparatory studies were interrupted each spring by a 
call from the farm. The Civil War was raging and there 



196 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

was scarcity of men's help. Young Knight kept up his studies 
while helping to put in the seed and gather the harvest. While 
the team rested he would be seen sitting on the plow-beam 
learning the hie, haec, hoc from a few pages torn from a Latin 
grammar, and the clatter of the mower knives would be al- 
most forgotten in the absorbing attention given the synopsis 
of a Greek verb. After many delays he entered Tufts Col- 
lege in 1868 at the age of twenty years. At the end of the 
freshman year he left college to accept an advantageous op- 
portunity with an engineering party then locating a line of 
railway from the Missouri River to the Pacific. After nearly 
two years of wild, adventurous life on the western frontier, 
young Knight returned to college. His western experience, 
however, changed all his plans, and he returned to his studies 
with the definite purpose of becoming a civil engineer. He 
graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1873 and secured a 
position on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, then build- 
ing from Colorado to Old Mexico. But the financial panic 
of '73 soon stopped all railroad construction, and he took the 
position of assistant-principal in Goddard Seminary at Barre, 
Vermont. 

At the close of the first year of teaching, Mr. Knight de- 
cided to fit himself as a specialist in chemistry and physics and 
went to Boston to take graduate courses at the institutions 
nearby. He was made assistant to Professor Dolbear, the 
famous electrician, and pursued post-graduate work in chem- 
istry and physics at Harvard College and the Boston School 
of Technology. For this work he was given the degree of 
A. M. by his Alma Mater, not "in course," but "for specific 
attainments in chemistry and physics." In 1875 he was called 
as principal of the Danvers, Massachusetts, high school, and 
at the same time as teacher of science at Buchtel College. 
Thinking the latter call would afford a better opportunity to 



THE TEACHER 197 

follow his chosen specialty, he accepted it and began work 
in September, 1875. 

For thirty-seven years Professor Knight was in active serv- 
ice at Buchtel. For nine years he was in charge of all the 
science taught, but in 1884 was relieved of a portion of this 
heavy load when Doctor Claypole was called to the College 
as professor of natural science. From 1 884 to 1 907 Professor 
Knight continued in charge of both chemistry and physics; 
physics was then taken over by the mathematics department. 
For five years more he was active head of the department of 
chemistry. Professor Knight did no actual teaching after 
June, 1912, but at the request of the Board of Trustees he re- 
mained as nominal head for another year with general super- 
vision of the department; at the close of the year he retired 
with the title of Professor Emeritus. 

At Commencement in 1897 Professor Knight was given 
the degree of Doctor of Science by Buchtel College, having 
then served the institution for twenty-two years. For a long 
time he served as dean, and in 1 896-7 was acting-president of 
the College during the interim following the retirement of 
President Cone. 

When the college building burned in 1899, Professor 
Knight established new quarters for his laboratories in the 
basement of Crouse Gynmasium. Here he conducted his 
classes in chemistry until 1909. This ten years of teaching 
under such difficulties gives us an idea of the devotion and 
spirit of service shown by Professor Knight to the old college 
in its time of misfortune. 

In 1 908, by gifts from an anonymous donor, small subscrip- 
tions, and twenty-five thousand dollars from Mr. Andrew Car- 
negie, a fine chemical laboratory was erected, and very appro- 
priately named the Knight Chemical Laboratory in recognition 
of the years of self-sacrifice and devotion that Professor 
Knight had given to Buchtel College. This building, a fitting 



198 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

monument to Professor Knight's work and services, was 
planned, by him, even down to details. Ground was broken 
in 1 908, and he moved in at the beginning of the school year 
in the fall of 1909. 

Since his retirement from active teaching. Professor Knight 
has continued to make Akron his home. Here he lives amid 
his books and magazines, enjoying, with his devoted wife, in 
the evening of his life a well-earned leisure. That many years 
may be spared him is the prayer of every one of his former 
students. 

There is no better evidence of Doctor Knight's personality 
and teaching power than the large number of his students who 
have made chemistry their profession. The group is a large 
one, and it is impossible to name all in this brief article. It 
includes such names as Willett L. Hardin, '93, formerly of 
the department of chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, now 
consulting chemist, Los Angeles, California ; Joseph H. James, 
'94, head of the department of chemistry in Carnegie Institute 
of Technology ; Floyd T. Metzger, '99, formerly professor of 
industrial chemistry, Columbia University, now chief chemist 
for the Air Reduction Company of Jersey City; Ralph E. 
Myers, '01, chemical director for the Westinghouse Lamp 
Works, Bloomfield, New Jersey; and H. E. Simmons, '08, 
Professor Knight's able successor at Buchtel, still in charge of 
the department of chemistry at the University of Akron, and a 
leading authority in rubber chemistry. The fact that these 
and many other Buchtel graduates have not only made chem- 
istry their profession, but have been notably successful in it, 
is certainly a tribute to the inspirational teaching of Professor 
Knight. 

In response to a request from the editor of the Buchtel 
History, Professor James, whom we have already mentioned 
as one of the most successful products of Professor Knight's 
teaching sent an excellent tribute to the work of Professor 



THE TEACHER 199 

Knight as a teacher. After speaking of the profound influence 
of Professor Knight upon those students who became chemists, 
Professor James continues as follows: 

"I do not mean in this connection to detract from the influence 
of Professor Knight upon all the students under his instruction. 
It should be remembered that the chemical work at Buchtel down 
to the time of the change to the IViunicipal University was not 
professional ; chemistry was taught rather for its cultural and gen- 
eral educational value, a work which Professor Knght did in 
the most admirable manner. We can all remember the clearness 
with which he laid the foundations of the science and the wealth 
of illustrations from the practical applications of chemistry that 
he constantly brought in to make the students feel that chemistry 
is a living, growing science, touching every phase of human ac- 
tivity. As one who has seen some of the teaching elsewhere that 
gives the impression to many students that chemistry is the dryest 
of dry subjects, I can testify that Buchtel students were indeed 
fortunate to have such a teacher in this science. 

"But a teacher of science must do more than master the sub- 
ject sufficiently to teach it; he must be engaged either in research 
or consulting work in order that he may bring into his teaching 
the enthusiasm, knowledge, and inspiration derived from contact 
with the outside world or from the results of original research. 
Professor Knight was well known in the industrial life of the 
Akron district. He was one of the first rubber chemists in the 
country, having done chemical work for the Goodrich Company 
years before the management of many rubber companies realized 
that a chemist is a necessity rather than an expensive luxury. 
It must certainly be a satisfaction to Professor Knight to see at 
the Municipal University now a school of rubber chemistry, where 
men are trained for positions in this industry. 

"Professor Knight's work in the consulting field was not con- 
fined to rubber, however. It included oils, paints, varnishes, 
polishes, toxicology, milk inspection, water analysis, the clay- 
working industries, and a great amount of work for the cereal 
companies of Akron. With this intimate contact with chemical 
industries, he was able to vitalize his teaching in a way abso- 
lutely unknown to the professor who learns from books merely 
enough to conduct his recitations. 

"Added to this classroom acquaintance and interest, we all 
gratefully acknowledge the interest and encouragement given us 
by Professor Knight in other ways. I shall never forget the 
long letter of kindly advice and helpful suggestions he wrote 
to me when, having finished university studies, I was looking about 
for an opening. His interest in his graduates has been that of a 
father, and none of us, seeking advice, ever went away from him 



200 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

except with feelings of hope and encouragement as a result of 
contact with his most delightful personality. 

"All of us remember Professor Knight in the classroom — 
quiet, firm, gentlemanly, and with it all a dignity that absolutely 
stopped — before it began — any attempt at classroom or labora- 
tory disorder. I well remember how a certain student, now a 
prominent attorney, who had an argumentative disposition, tried 
to take the time of the class one day by prolonging a certain 
philosophical discussion beyond the point where anything profit- 
able was to be gained. When Professor Knight thought the 
subject had been discussed sufficiently, with quiet dignity he com- 
pletely ignored young future attorney's last question, and pro- 
ceeded with the other topics of the recitation. 

"While most of the preceding remarks have been confined to 
Professor Knight's chemical work, it should not be forgotten 
that, in addition to his chemistry teaching, he either taught physics 
or had direct supervision of the teaching of the subject down to 
the year 1907. In physics, as in chemistry. Professor Knight's 
work as a teacher was characterized by clarity in explanation 
of fundamental principles, and by a wonderful wealth of prac- 
tical illustration that vivified and made fascinating this science 
even to the mediocre student. 

"It seems unfortunate that the small college, such as Buchtel 
was during the greater part of Professor Knight's teaching life, 
is passing. I do not believe there can possibly be, in the newer 
development of large universities and technical schools, any sub- 
stitute for the intimate personal acquaintance between professor 
and student such as we graduates of Buchtel knew with such 
men as Knight, Claypole, Bates, and Kolbe. In the modern 
institutions such men never come in contact with freshmen or even 
sophomores, these students being turned over for recitations and 
laboratory work to young instructors, who, no matter how good 
their intentions, are usually loaded with such a heavy schedule of 
teaching hours that they know their men only in the aggregate; 
there is little opportunity for the development of individual ac- 
quaintanceships, which mean a great deal to the young men in 
their freshman and sophomore years. The small college, with 
its small classes in charge of mature men Hke Professor Knight, 
has done greater work in giving inspiration to the younger student 
than is generally believed." 

PROFESSOR E. W. CLAYPOLE 

Edward Waller Claypole was born in England in 1835. 
He began teaching when eighteen years of age and, with 
short intermissions, taught all his life. He came to America 
in 1872, and a year later, through the influence of Doctor 



THE TEACHER 201 

Edward Everett Hale of Boston, Massachusetts, was called 
to a professorship in Antioch College, Ohio. After eight 
years of work at Antioch he left to take a position as paleon- 
tologist to the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, 
and after two years of valuable work in the mountains of the 
Keystone state, in January, 1 884, he began his work at Buch- 
tel College. 

He was called to bear a part of the heavy work then falling 
upon Professor Knight. The whole group of science studies 
was divided into physical science, or physics and chemistry, 
and the natural sciences, or geology, biology, etc., and Pro- 
fessor Claypole took charge of the latter group. 

Professor Claypole came to Buchtel when forty-eight years 
of age, and gave in her service fourteen of the best years of 
his mature life. He brought distinction to the College, and 
teachers and students alike took great pride in the recognition 
he won in his field of thought and labor. Doctor Claypole 
was a great teacher — great in discovery, great in knowledge, 
great in the skill of imparting. He was born with a clear, 
powerful mind, which he used with great energy and single- 
ness of purpose. Others had better opportunities — wealth, in- 
fluential friends, and great social aids — while he, without these 
but with rare industry and heeding no distracting allurements, 
brought his talents to their best and finest uses. 

His nature had been rounded on all sides by general culture. 
He was one of the best informed men one could meet in a 
lifetime. It was rare indeed for any subject to be brought into 
conversation when he was present and not be illumined by 
some thought of his; and his comment would be given so 
quietly and with such modesty as to carry the idea that he 
held himself but a lowly learner in the subject. He was 
entirely devoid of pretension to high authority in any subject. 
He had no trace of intellectual pride. He never put himself 
forward, and had no desire for fame. He was the friend of 



202 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the lowly industrious. Simple in manner, plain in dress, and 
always at work, he met the laborer on his own level and won 
his confidence and esteem. The intelligent farmer loved him 
as a brother, for his great fund of information and his valued 
opinion of any farming problem — be it insect pest, treatment 
of soils, or animal plague — was for anyone, without price. 

His judgment and advice were valued over the whole range 
of the college curriculum. Especially in the broad field of 
science, when any puzzle or paradox appeared, or there was 
doubt about various plans of procedure, it came to be a natural 
course to go to Professor Claypole. 

It is given to very few to use the English language with the 
facility and skill he had acquired. One looks for grace in 
the use of language in a written essay, but his extemporaneous 
lectures were models of clear, simple English. 

Besides all these qualities, and above them all, he had a 
great love for the truth. This made him the great discoverer 
and scientist that he was. His eye was single to the truth. 
When he believed he saw a new principle or an unexplained 
law, he excluded all extraneous considerations and concen- 
trated all his powers upon the research; and his mind was so 
disciplined and his will so powerful that he rarely met failure 
in any quest. But the searcher after truth must have patience, 
too; and how many times an inquiry was put by to wait until 
more facts could be marshalled to give their testimony! This 
love of truth — the desire to be accurate and exact, to spare no 
pains to get at absolute facts — won for him the confidence and 
devotion of his students. It was his plan to give his classes not 
alone the general view of a subject, but in addition to make a 
thorough study of some small part of the field and to give them 
some idea of the charm of research. That his students became 
enthusiastic and devoted to their tasks, there are many to 
testify. 



THE TEACHER 203 

Doctor Claypole held degrees of B. A., B. Sc, and D. Sc. 
from the University of London, and was a member or fellow 
of a large number of scientific societies in this country and 
abroad. He contributed valuable papers to these societies and 
to many journals in Great Britain and America. 

Doctor Claypole was blessed, beyond the usual measure, 
with the sympathetic and intelligent co-operation of his wife 
and two devoted daughters. All three were remarkable 
women. "High thinking and plain living" never went out of 
fashion in that home. Mrs. Claypole, always frail, helped in 
quiet ways by preparing literary work and looking up refer- 
ences, while the robust twin daughters, who adored their 
father, were his usual companions in outdoor expeditions. 

On account of the sudden and severe changes of climate 
often experienced in northern Ohio and their effect upon the 
frail health of his wife, Doctor Claypole moved his home to 
Southern California in 1 897 and took a position in the Throop 
Polytechnic Institute at Pasadena. He died suddenly at Long 
Beach, California, in 1901. 

Professor ^^^ ^^ ^^^ strong personalities on the Buchtel 
Maria faculty was Professor Maria Parsons. She was 

arsons called to the chair of English and rhetoric in 1880. 
After four years in this position, she resigned to travel abroad, 
but eleven years later returned to Buchtel at the urgent re- 
quest of President Cone to teach in the preparatory depart- 
ment, and two years later, in 1897, resumed the professorship 
of English in the College, in which position she remained until 
June, 1905. 

From the first. Professor Parsons took high rank as a col- 
lege teacher. She had a refined personality, possessed unusual 
scholarship and keenness of mind, and was earnest and sincere, 
hating shams and pretenses of every sort. 

Mrs. Lulu \V. Knight of the class of 1906 writes the fol- 
lowing appreciation: 



204 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"Miss Parsons was a great teacher of literature. She appealed 
to the vision of youth with that vision which she herself possessed. 
By interpreting the truths of life through the medium of literature 
clearly and impartially, by giving interest to those truths in the 
right proportion, and by appealing to the best qualities of the 
student himself, she was an inspiration to the best ideals. 

"The atmosphere Miss Parsons created in the classroom was 
first of all a genial one, due in large measure to that unusual 
something which we call personality. Her appearance, her man- 
ners, were exquisite; she herself might have been one of the 
heroines of an English novel, a true 'gentlewoman,' fastidious 
in the niceties of every-day living. Can the precision of her 
desk be forgotten? the careful order, the nice arrangement, the 
personal touches — for there was always a vase or a flower, or 
a book of her own, besides a picture or two and a larger bowl 
or vase for the room itself. 

"But, added to all the charm and graciousness, was an im- 
pression of power. She commanded the situation as one with 
various capabilities able to meet any occasion; her opinions and 
decisions had the force of a keen, true judgment. Moreover, 
she had an unusual sense of humor, sharpened and diversified by 
her many gifts; her smile came quickly and surely, as if she 
enjoyed from the deepest sources. All these qualities enhanced 
the value and the interest of her work in the classroom. 

"I think that perhaps the literature we studied then no longer 
seems to us of the same importance; but what we who were her 
pupils do understand better and admire more and more with the 
passing years is the personality of Miss Parsons herself, a per- 
sonality which impressed us so unusually and so enduringly. 
Her love of her work was partly her love of the beautiful and 
partly her love of human nature, and her interest in us as students 
was much more than for the moment. 

"Miss Parsons was a wonderful teacher; but, beyond that, she 
was a wonderful woman, giving love and service to her every 
task." 

Professor The excellence of the work of Professor Jewett 
Mary has already been referred to in the chapter on 

President Cone's administration. Succeeding Pro- 
fessor Parsons as Pierce Professor of English Literature, Miss 
Jewett for seven years maintained the highest standards of 
teaching in that department, and by her thoroughness added 
greatly to the reputation of the College for sound scholarship. 
While a woman of unusual strength of character and excellent 
judgment, she also had an even, steady temperament, and 



THE TEACHER 205 

withal a warm sympathy with young life which commanded 
the confidence of students and won their affection. 
Professor Every Buchtel student of the eighties or nineties 
Charles C. remembers Professor Bates. Who can forget the 
tall and slender form, the handsome black eyes, 
the deep voice, the full black beard, the stern glance softened 
by the smile always lurking about the lips? What freshman 
will ever forget how he trembled from head to toe when first 
called upon to recite by that deep, stern voice? As one ex- 
pressed it, "I was so scared that my mind went blank. All I 
ever knew about Latin vanished, and I flunked flat." 

Yet Professor Bates was a great teacher. In college — he 
was a graduate of Tufts — he had shown himself to be a bril- 
liant student in all his classes, but especially in languages. 
He had a remarkably retentive memory. It was said that 
he could recite from memory the Greek text of the entire first 
book of Homer's Iliad. And his work as a teacher was no 
whit less thorough than his work as a student. His manner 
was so abrupt as to be rather forbidding, but beneath was 
the kindest of hearts, and as his students came to know him 
more intimately they learned to love and appreciate him for 
his real worth as a teacher and as a man. 

Professor Bates served Buchtel College for twenty years, 
being professor of Latin from 1882 to 1895, and professor of 
Latin and Greek from 1895 to 1902. With rare devotion 
he gave the best portion of his life to the building of an ex- 
cellent department of classical languages. 

One of his students, Edwin L. Findley, '9 1 , now a promi- 
nent teacher of Latin, and principal of South High School, 
Cleveland, writes of him : 

"In seeking an answer to the question. What was Professor 
Bates' chief claim to the admiration and regard of all his former 



206 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

students? one would unhesitatingly point to his rare combination, 
in one personality, of high attainments and rigorous ideals in 
scholarship with unusual ability as a classroom instructor. It 
was with a wise and unerring hand that he led his flock, now 
through charming groves and along pleasant streams, now up 
arduous ascents, always sure-footed under his guidance and al- 
ways inspired. No danger at all could there be of being fed on 
the dry husks of classical scholarship in such a class. Each 
moment was made alive with interest, each episode vivid with 
meaning and pregnant with suggestion." 

Professor Although Professor Howe was at Buchtel only six 

Charles S. years, 1 883-9, during that time he made a deep 
Howe 11 1 1 1 • • 

impress both as teacher and as administrator upon 

the life of the institution. It is no disparagement to others to 
say that Professor Howe was one of the ablest instructors in 
the history of the College. To his teaching of mathematics 
he brought sound scholarship, high scholastic ideals, and a 
contagious enthusiasm. He raised the money to build and 
equip the small astronomical observatory, and so changed the 
teaching of astronomy at Buchtel that it ceased to be a matter 
of lecture and textbook routine and in his hands became one 
of the most interesting, practical, and vital of studies. 

In many ways Professor Howe's initiative and executive 
ability made themselves felt, especially in the work of or- 
ganizing the Buchtel College Cadets, securing a gymnasium, 
and arousing an enthusiastic and healthy interest in the phys- 
ical training of the students. The ability and organizing power 
of Professor Howe have been used with large effect since 
he left Buchtel, for during his presidency and under his leader- 
ship Case School of Applied Science has taken rank as one 
of the best institutions of its kind in the country. President 
Howe holds doctors' degrees from several institutions, is prom- 
inent in leading astronomical societies, and is an authority in 
scientific and technical educational circles. 



THE TEACHER 207 

Professor Another member of the Buchtel faculty whose 
^^"^^ P. period of service was brilliant though brief was 
Professor Orth. Succeeding Doctor Claypole as 
professor of natural science, he remained five years, from 1897 
to 1902. In the fire of 1899 no department suffered greater 
loss than did the department of natural science, for not only 
recitation rooms, but laboratories and equipment, were com- 
pletely destroyed. It devolved upon Professor Orth, one of 
the youngest men on the faculty, to begin without anything, 
not even a classroom — he used the balcony of the gymnasium. 
It is greatly to his credit that he had the courage and ability 
to continue successfully the work of his department amid such 
difficulties. In those same trying days. Professor Orth ren- 
dered valuable service as a member of the Faculty Building 
Committee in planning and overseeing the construction of the 
new buildings and in the general work of reconstruction fol- 
lowing the fire. 

While still at Buchtel, Professor Orth showed clearly that 
his chief liking was not for natural science but for political 
science. He took a keen interest in civic and political affairs, 
both local, state, and national, and because of his ability as 
a speaker he was much in demand to give public addresses on 
political themes. 

On leaving Buchtel Professor Orth spent a year at Colum- 
bia University in completing his work for the Ph. D. degree. 
From 1903 to 1909 he practised law in Cleveland, Ohio, at 
the same time lecturing on law at Western Reserve Univer- 
sity, Case School, and Oberlin College, serving one year on 
the Cleveland Board of Education, and for three years being 
Assistant U. S. District Attorney. In 1912 he was called 
to Cornell University as professor of political science, a posi- 
tion he still holds.* Professor Orth has written several books 

*Since this article was written news has come of the death of Professor Orth 
at Nice, France, while on sabbatic leave, in the spring of 1922. 



208 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

and many magazine articles on political and social topics. 
Among his best-known works are: Centralization of Admin- 
istration in Ohio, Five American Politicians, Socialism and 
Democracy in Europe, and The Boss and the Machine. 
Professor Professor Orth's successor was Charles Brookover, 
Charles who came to Buchtel fresh from post-graduate study 
roo over ^^ Columbia University. Professor Brookover re- 
mained nine years; of this period he spent one year at the 
University of Chicago to complete his work for the Ph. D. 
degree. 

From the first Doctor Brookover introduced to his labora- 
tories the newest and most approved methods. He was him- 
self a tireless worker; outside the required classroom routine 
he was almost constantly engaged in research. But, unlike 
some teachers, Doctor Brookover never allowed his interest 
in research to interfere with his classroom or laboratory in- 
struction; on the contrary, his researches stimulated and vital- 
ized all his teaching. 

Doctor Theron Jackson, '09, writes as follows of Pro- 
fessor Brookover: 

"It falls upon one who owes to Charles Brookover the in- 
spiration and early teaching that started him on a scientific career, 
to write a few lines in an attempt to tell what such a man meant 
to Buchtel and the students whom he taught. He loved his 
science better than himself, and his activity was painstaking and 
tireless. No sacrifice required to bring his work to a successful 
termination was ever too great. His labors were characterized 
by an accuracy and regard for truthful findings which may be 
compared to those of Darwin, Huxley, DeQuatrefages, and 
other famous men whose teaching he followed. In his chosen 
field of neurology he had few equals. 

"Unlike many great students. Professor Brookover was an 
excellent teacher. He possessed almost an instinctive faculty for 
detecting the special talents, or the particular weaknesses, of in- 
dividual pupils. He taught elementary biology to rebellious fresh- 
men with the same thoroughness and care that he lavished upon 
his advanced students; more than that, he possessed the ability 
to present his subject in such a manner that it was indeed a stub- 
born pupil whose interest he failed to arouse. 



THE TEACHER 209 

"As the writer of these lines grows older and he finds himself 
working over living bodies, very often of his friends, the memory 
picture of 'Brooky' comes back, bending over the miscroscope, 
searching for a minute point overlooked throughout the ages. It 
is then that there comes the full realization of what he was to 
those who were fortunate enough to have known him as a teacher 
and a man." 

Severe weather changes in northern Ohio were not favor- 
able to the health of Professor Brookover, and this, with 
greater financial inducements, led him to accept a position in 
the medical department of the State University of Arkansas. 
His withdrawal left a void in the college faculty hard to fill.* 

On the teaching and administrative staff of the University 
of Akron today are six men who have been on the faculty 
fifteen years or more. Their periods of service vary from 
fifteen to thirty-two years. Counting the total time they have 
served the institution, these men, with their periods of service, 
are as follows : Charles R. Olin, thirty-two years ; Professor 
Oscar E. Olin, twenty-two years (six in the preparatory de- 
partment and sixteen in the college department) ; Dean Albert 
I. Spanton, nineteen years (four in the preparatory depart- 
ment and fifteen in the college department) ; Professor Joseph 
C. Rockwell, eighteen years; Professor Hermas V. Egbert, 
seventeen years; President Parke R. Kolbe, fifteen years. 
Secretary ^^ point of length and value of service to Buchtel 
Charles R. College no one has a more enviable record than 
Charles R. Olin of the class of '85. Born Feb- 
ruary 19, 1861, in Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio, he 
came to the preparatory school in 1 879 and spent six years as 
a student there and in Buchtel College. During his senior 
year in college he was practically in entire charge of the 
financial office by reason of the absence of Mr. A. B. Tinker 
at the Cincinnati Law School. Upon the completion of his 
course, he entered the service of the College, being elected 

*Since the writing of this article news has been received of Professor Brook- 
over's death at Louisville, Kentucky, March 17, 1922. 



210 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

adjunct-professor of mathematics in 1888. Although his 
service as a teacher continued for many years, it was par- 
ticularly to the supervision of the financial details of college 
administration that most of his time was given. In 1891 he 
was elected secretary of the Board of Trustees and in 1897 
treasurer as well. Upon the foundation of the Municipal 
University he was chosen clerk of the Board and secretary of 
the University, in which positions he still continues. 

It is safe to say that the versatility of Charles Olin and his 
faithful and unwearying service have been among the most 
important of the foundation stones upon which the success of 
the institution has been built. As an accountant and a coun- 
cillor in all financial matters, as an attorney, as an architect 
and engineer, and as a practical business man, as well as in 
the capacity of teacher, he has given a lifetime of such service 
as money cannot buy. In 1909 his Alma Mater conferred 
upon him the degree of Master of Science (in course), based 
largely upon his valuable work in drawing plans for the 
Knight Chemical Laboratory. In later years, owing to the 
growth of the University, the much loved duties of the teacher 
have had to give way to the increasing calls of the business 
office. When Buchtel celebrated her fiftieth anniversary in 
1920, Charles Olin closed his forty-first year of active asso- 
ciation with the College. The results of his constructive effort 
are evident on every hand to those familiar with Buchtel's 
history. 

Professor Professor Olin came to Buchtel in 1898, fol loving 
Oscar E. Miss Jennie Gifford as principal of the normal and 

'" preparatory departments. Born in Ohio, most of 

his life had been spent in the West, where he had enjoyed a 
wide and varied experience in teaching and educational ad- 
ministration. After several years in public school work, he 
had accepted the professorship of English in the Kansas State 



THE TEACHER 211 

Agricultural College at Manhattan, where he remained for 
sixteen years, resigning that position to come to Buchtel 
College. 

Professor Olin continued as head of the preparatory depart- 
ment six years. In 1904 he became professor of economics 
and history and instructor in mental and moral philosophy in 
the College, since which time his teaching service has been 
continuous. For several years he carried uncomplainingly 
a heavy burden, teaching all the College offered in history, 
logic, psychology, philosophy, and the social sciences, but in 
1914, with the coming of Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson as pro- 
fessor of history, he was relieved of a portion of the load. 
Since 1919 Doctor Crecraf t has taught the classes in economics 
and political science, leaving sociology, philosophy, and logic 
as the work of Professor Olin at the present time. 

During these years Professor Olin has been first of all the 
teacher. He comes from a family of teachers. He believes 
in the teaching profession — the great need it serves, its real 
worth to society, and the high privilege of service it confers 
upon those who give their lives unselfishly to it. Because dur- 
ing his years in the College he has taught so many subjects 
and his classes have always been crowded, it is probable that 
no other professor has come into touch with so many students 
— especially upperclassmen — in the classroom as has Professor 
Olin. And his influence has always been strong and helpful. 
Nothing better indicates the genuine affection with which Pro- 
fessor Clin is regarded by the hundreds of students who have 
sat under his instruction than the name of "Daddy" by which 
he is known to all. 

When Buchtel College became the Municipal University, 
Professor Olin was made vice-president of the new institution. 

At the 1920 Commencement the University conferred upon 
Professor Olin the degree Doctor of Laws in recognition of 
his having completed a full half-century of teaching. 



212 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Professor ^pon Professor Egbert rests the distinction of being 

Hermas V. tj^g only member of the "Old Guard" in active 
iLsh&rt 

service on the faculty of the University at the time 

of the publication of this History. Succeeding Professor 

Howe in the chair of mathematics and astronomy in 1889, 

he remained fourteen years, being an associate of Claypole, 

Crth, Knight, Bates, Shipman, Parsons, and the elder Kolbe. 

In 1903 he resigned to enter business life, but soon resumed 

teaching, and was at Pennsylvania State College six years 

and in the Cleveland Technical High Schools three years 

prior to his return to the University in 1917. 

Before coming to Buchtel Professor Egbert had valuable 
experience in astronomical research, especially in the Cincin- 
nati Observatory, the Dudley Observatory at Albany, New 
York, and the Washburn Observatory at Madison, Wiscon- 
sin. During these years frequent contributions from his pen, 
giving the results of his astronomical investigations, appeared 
in the Astronomische Nachrichten — the leading international 
journal of astronomy — and other astronomical publications. 
The results of his special work at Washburn Observatory were 
published in book form. 

From the first Professor Egbert's courses in mathematics and 
astronomy were among the most popular courses given. Prob- 
ably one of the chief reasons was his thoroughly human qual- 
ity; with him the man was never lost in the teacher. While 
keenly interested in the subjects taught, and thoroughly alive 
to their large value, he was no narrow specialist, but ever 
recognized the value of subjects in the curriculum outside his 
own department. It was no uncommon thing for Professor 
Egbert to pause in the midst of a recitation in trigonometry or 
calculus to emphasize the practical value of Latin and Greek 
to every student of mathematics. Professor Egbert took a 
personal interest in the students; many who attended Buchtel 



THE TEACHER 213 

College in the nineties will remember, among the most pleasant 
experiences of their college days, the friendly hours spent in 
the Egbert home. 

Professor The senior member of the present faculty in length 
Joseph C. of actual teaching service in the college department 
Rockwell is Professor Rockwell. Coming to Buchtel in 1 902 
as successor to Professor Bates, he has filled the chair of Latin 
and Greek continuously since that time with the exception of 
one year when he was given leave of absence to complete his 
work for the Ph. D. degree at the University of Jena, 

During these years the high scholastic standards of the de- 
partment under his predecessor have been vigorously main- 
tained. Himself a thorough scholar. Doctor Rockwell has 
insisted upon thoroughness and accuracy on the part of his 
pupils, and has had little patience with slovenly methods and 
careless work. It is safe to assert that so long as Doctor Rock- 
well remains the older ideals of education for culture will 
have an ardent champion at the University, and that no matter 
how many and how insistent may be the cries for "practical" 
education he will stand like a rock against any change in 
either the content or the method of college instruction that 
will mean the lowering of scholastic ideals. 

President President Kolbe and Dean Spanton belong to both 
Parke R. the older and the newer Buchtel. Both are Buch- 

°_^ tel graduates. Both had their undergraduate train- 

Dean ing — or the larger part of it — in the old college 

Albert I. building under such instructors as Knight, Parsons, 

pan on q^^^^ Bates, Egbert, and the elder Kolbe. Al- 
though Dean Spanton had previously served four years as 
assistant-principal and teacher of English in the Academy, 
both began their work as teachers on the college faculty at 
the same time, in September, 1905, six years after the old 
building was destroyed by fire. The fifteen years of service 
each has given in the college department are almost equally 



214 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

divided between the periods before and since Buchtel College 
became the University of Akron. Thus in a very real sense 
they stand for both the earlier traditions and the later develop- 
ments of the institution. 

Of necessity this chapter vv^ill appear fragmentary and in- 
complete. There has been no attempt even to mention all 
the excellent teachers who have served Buchtel College; the 
purpose has been only to pick out certain instructors who seem 
especially significant by reason of length of service or unusual 
teaching power. Probably no two persons would make the 
same choice. To some readers doubtless there are serious 
omissions; to others, names are included which they would 
prefer to omit. But no intentional injustice has been done. It 
is our desire to give all honor to those to whom honor is due. 
Even as we write other names come crowding to mind — 
some from long ago and some from recent years — of instruc- 
tors whose work was characterized by unusual ability or 
fidelity: Nehemiah White and William D. Shipman in the 
classics; Ellen E. Garrigues and Frank D. Sturlevant in Eng- 
lish; Alice Rines- Hitchcock in both ancient and modern lan- 
guages ; Sarah de Plaisance in French ; and Carita McEbright 
— a member of the present faculty — in what used to be known 
as elocution, but now passes under the caption of public 
speaking. 

Throughout her history Buchtel College has been singularly 
fortunate in her teaching staff. And her faculty at the present 
time will not suffer by comparison with the faculties of former 
years. It is no disparagement to other members of the present 
teaching force to make special mention of Professor Elizabeth 
Thompson, dean of women and professor of history, a teacher 
of remarkable interest and power; Professor H. E. Simmons 
the able successor of Doctor Knight in chemistry; Professor 
Charles Bulger, who has conducted the modern langauge de- 
partment so efficiently since Doctor Kolbe became president 



THE TEACHER 215 

of the University ; Dean Fred E. Ayer, to whose wisdom the 
growth of the College of Engineering is largely due; Fred 
Sefton, esteemed as a man no less than he is admired as a 
coach; and Doctor A. B. Plowman, the efficient head of the 
department of natural science. With such instructors as these 
and their colleagues, there is no danger that the tradition of 
sound teaching, for which Buchtel College was famous in her 
earlier years, will be lost in the University of Akron of our 
own generation. 



216 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



THE GOLD AND THE BLUE 

Written by Lulu Weeks Knight, ex- 06 

Now rouse ye, oh faithful. 
And sing ye anew, 
A song for old Buchtel, 
Her gold and her blue. 
With hearts beating fondly 
And fervent and true. 

Chorus 
For what is so dear to us 
As the Gold and the Blue? 
Sing ye heigh, sing ye ho! 
For the Gold and the Blue. 

The Gold and the Blue, yes, 

'Tis worthy of song. 

And proud are the hearts that 

Will cherish it long. 

With never a shadow 

Of sorrow or wrong. 

Then wave the bright banner 
O'er Buchtel for e'er; 
There's never a college 
Or color so fair — 
The place that we love 
And the pledge that we wear. 



CHAPTER XII 
GIFTS AND DONORS 

THE records of the early financial history and growth 
of Buchtel College are very incomplete, so much so 
that little information is available as to the sources 
from vv^hich the money was received for the erection of the 
main college building and for the operation and maintenance 
of the school during the '70's. From the records of the Board 
of Trustees and those of its executive committee there is gath- 
ered what little information we have as to this period. It is 
evident that the College passed through trying times in the 
'70's in spite of generous gifts and the unflinching loyalty of 
Mr. Buchtel and others intimately associated with him in 
those early days. In 1875 the Reverend D. C. Tomlinson 
resigned as financial secretary, and the Reverend Andrew 
Willson was chosen to be his successor. The period of the 
next two years and a half — from December, 1875, to June, 
1878 — was probably as critical a time financially as ever came 
to the College. In later years Mr. Willson, speaking of those 
days, said, "During this period the college passed through 
its most trying financial experience. Only John R. Buchtel 
and the financial secretary knew how nearly it came to closing 
its doors. In debt nearly $50,000, a large portion to banks 
at ten per cent interest, it was no easy task to prevent notes 
going to protest. All the bankers were as patient as their 
rules would permit, and no note was ever protested." 

Early in 1879 a campaign was begun to raise money to 
pay off the debt referred to by Mr. Willson. Several finan- 
cial agents were appointed to have charge of the campaign in 
the different sections solicited. The territory covered included 
not only Ohio, but also Indiana, Michigan, a portion of Illi- 



218 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

nois, western Pennsylvania, and western New York. A total 
of about v$60,000 was raised. 

In June, 1879, Mr. A. B. Tinker was made secretary of 
the Board of Trustees and ex-oflicio financial secretary of the 
College. Prior to the time of Mr. Tinker's appointment, no 
adequate records are to be found of the financial transactions 
of Buchtel College. Great credit is due Mr. Tinker for in- 
augurating a system of accounting that shows a record of the 
business affairs of the institution in detail. Throughout the 
remainder of Mr. Buchtel's life, Mr. Tinker served as his 
private secretary, and was in intimate contact with all his 
affairs, particularly as they were related to the College. The 
following year, upon his recommendation, the Board author- 
ized an appraisal of the assets and liabilities of the institution 
as a basis for opening a complete set of books and accounts, 
and from July 1 , 1 880, a complete record of the financial 
affairs of Buchtel College has been kept and preserved. 

At the time of this first appraisal the tangible assets and 
outstanding liabilities of the institution were set forth as 
follows : 

BALANCE SHEET. JULY 1. 1880 

ASSETS 
Real Estate — 

Building, Campus, Ball Grounds, 
President's House, and a few 

other parcels $150,000.00 

Buchtel Chapman Farm 40,000.00 

Vinton County Farm 15,000.00 

Paper Mill Stock 15.000.00 

Personal Properly — 

Stock in Franklin Furnace Co $ 7,500.00 

Apparatus. Natural History Col- 
lection. Library Books, Maps 
and Furniture 10.051.69 17.551.69 

Endowments — 

Elizabeth Buchtel Professorsh;p....$20,000.00 

Chloe Pierce Professorship 20,000.00 

John H. Hilton Professorship 25.000.00 

L. A. E. Messenger Professorship 25,000.00 90,000.00 



GIFTS AND DONORS 219 

Scholarships — 

30 of $1,000 each $ 30.000.00 

Subscriptions to debt 42.064.04 

Miscellaneous items 405.60 

Cash on hand 208.80 

Total Assets $400,230.13 

LIABILITIES 

Bills Payable $44,084.04 

L. A. E. Messenger Professorship ... 25.000.00 

John H. Hilton Professorship 25.000.00 

Chloe Pierce Professorship 6,044.37 

Scholarship Funds 10,605.00 

Personal Accounts 171.80 

Total Liabilities $110,905.21 

NET RESOURCES $289,324.92 

We shall now go back and trace the growth and develop- 
ment of the financial history of the College from the beginning 
as best we can from the records available. 

Fortunately there has been preserved a list of the con- 
tributors to the original fund of $60,000 that had to be raised 
if the College were located in Akron. As this may be con- 
sidered in a sense the "charter" membership list, it is repro- 
duced here in full : 

J. R. Buchtel. $31,000: J. F. Seiberling, $5,000; George 
Steese. $2,000. 

The following gave $1,000 each: Lewis Miller, Alexander 
Brewster. G. W. Grouse, Eugene Miles, J. B. Woods, A. C. 
Voris, George Perkins. F. Schumacher. 

The following gave $500 each: S. M. Burnham. Avery 
Spicer. H. McKinney, M. W. Henry, J. J. Wagner. Jacob 
Allen, L. Benjamin, A. H. Commins, J. A. Sumner, E. Stein- 
bacher, W. R. Carver, C. Cranz, C. W. Brown. J. H. Pendle- 
ton. Brewster Brothers. 

A friend, $700; a friend. $200; Hill. Adams & King. $750; 
Snider & Wilhelm, $200; J. H. Wise. $300. 

The following $200 each: J. P. Alexander. E. P. Green, 
Barnes Brothers, Wetmore & Paige. N. D. Tibbals. George 
Thomas & Son, Joseph Webb. C. W. Bonstedt. George Weimer. 
C. A. Collins & Son, J. Cook & Son. O. C. Barber. 



220 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

The following $150 each: H. W. Howe. J. A. Kohler. 
J. Mathews & Son, J. A. Long, A. L. Conger, Cramer & May. 

The following $100 each: Isaac Harter, Koch & Levi, 
Martin & Howe. B. McNaughton, L Mills, D. S. Alexander, 
P. H. Dudley. W. C. Parsons, L. K. Miles, J. H. Pitkin, 
J. A. Lantz, U. L. Marvin, A. P. Baldwin, George H. Heifer, 
Alden Gage, J. T. Trowbridge, W. M. Cunningham, William 
Bowen, W. C. Jacobs, W. B. Doyle, O. H. Remington. John 
McGregor. T. McEbright. M. T. Cutter. M. R. Paine, T. 
Erasmus, H. & R. S. Paul, A. Berg, H. H. Clark, John Wolf. 
McMahon & Steele. Geo. Wohlwend. Charles Merriman. A. M. 
Barber. N. W. Goodhue, John Harris, H. Bonchuchmar. 

The following $50 each: W. H. Crumrine, A. Baldwin, 
J. H. Peterson, R. N. Downey, H. G. Canfield, D. J. Long, 
D. S. Wright. H. D. Freer, Philip Evans. Hiram Spicer. Orion 
Church, H. Hart, David Hanscom, J. A. Means, Belah Bos- 
worth, F. S. Hanford, Jacob Wise, R. L. Mallory, J. L. Mal- 
lory, W. ri. Carver, George Sackett, H. J. Ayers. 

The following $25 each: Robert Baird, J. A. Moody, 
George Burkhernett, M. Beecher, Norman Allen. 

In the proceedings had in the matter of incorporating Buch- 
tel College on May 31,1 870, the appraisers appointed by the 
county auditor in pursuance of the law, to appraise the prop- 
erty then belonging to the institution, reported as follows: 

"2.60 acres of real estate situated between Carroll and 

Middlebury Streets, Akron, O $ 7.000 

Subscriptions of sundry persons amounting in the aggre- 
gate to 62,000 

Total $69,000" 

ENDOWMENT AND OTHER GIFTS 
The vital strength of an institution like Buchtel College de- 
pends in a very large measure upon the growth and permanence 
of its endowment. It is not enough that such an institution 
should have adequate buildings and equipment and an able 
faculty — it must have ample means to finance its operations. 
The experience of Buchtel College has shown that less than 
one-third of its operating income has been derived from the 
fees paid by its students. The balance has come from gifts 
of those interested in the institution who have been both able 



GIFTS AND DONORS 221 

and willing to contribute to its maintenance. Buchtel College 
through the years found many such friends. 

In the following pages we have endeavored briefly to 
enumerate the various funds and gifts which came to the Col- 
lege from its inception until it became the University of Akron 
in December, 1912, together with the names of the principal 
donors. We are unable, however, to give either a list of 
donors or the total amount contributed to the erection of the 
original college building, but it is estimated that the gifts must 
have been at least $30,000 or $40,000. 

First and foremost among the contributors stand the Hon- 
orable John R. Buchtel, in whose honor the College was 
named, and his ever faithful wife, Elizabeth Buchtel, who 
always stood loyally by him and seconded his every effort 
in behalf of the institution. As has already been noted, Mr. 
Buchtel gave $3 1 ,000 towards securing the location of the 
College in Akron. Just how much more than this he gave 
during the '70's the records are not available to show, but 
from allusions occurring here and there in the trustees' records 
and elsewhere it is certain that his gifts must have been con- 
siderable. In the records of the trustees for July 8, 1 874, the 
indebtedness of the College was reported to be $29,400. Mr. 
Buchtel offered to give $9,400 of this amount if other friends 
of the College would pay the remaining $20,000 within that 
college year. Again on June 20, 1875, the records quote Mr. 
Buchtel as saying that "the amount due him as shown by the 
secretary's books should not trouble the institution so long as 
it shall go forward in the performance of its mission, and its 
friends everywhere shall stand unflinchingly by him in its 
support." Towards the close of the campaign which was in- 
augurated in 1878 to raise money to pay off the indebtedness, 
the field had been pretty thoroughly canvassed and the returns 
were beginning to come in rather slowly. The pledges had 
been made on the condition that the full amount be subscribed. 



222 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

In order to make these pledges secure, Mr. Buchtel agreed to 
give some $9, 1 00, the amount needed to make up the required 
amount. 

In 1880 Mr. Buchtel deeded to the College five city lots 
which he owned in Cleveland, valued at about $1,500. 

At Commencement of 1881 Mr. Buchtel turned over to 
the College a tract of about forty-three acres, known as the 
Chapman farm and located south of Exchange Street and 
east of Spicer Street in Akron, also a block of stock of the 
Akron Paper Mill amounting to one-sixth of the entire capital 
stock. At that time the paper mill was a very prosperous 
concern, and the stock proved a most excellent source of 
revenue for the College. At this time also Mr. Buchtel gave 
a one-third interest in 370 acres of mineral land in Vinton 
County, Ohio, and some shares of stock in the Franklin Fur- 
nace Company of Columbus, Ohio. These latter did not 
prove so valuable as the first two items mentioned. However, 
at the time of this gift it was considered to be worth about 
$75,000, and it was set apart for the general endowment of 
the College. 

On Founder's Day, January 18, 1883, Mr. Buchtel again 
demonstrated his interest in the College by a gift of $ 1 00,000 
for a perpetual endowment fund. 

In September of that same year he transferred to the Col- 
lege some lands in Michigan valued at about $2,000. 

On Commencement Day of 1887 Mr. Buchtel made what 
proved to be practically his last large gift to the institution. 
The preamble to this gift ran thus: "Whereas Buchtel Col- 
lege has been founded in my name, and Whereas I desire to 
honor the institution that has honored me, and to aid in placing 
it on a financial basis so permanent and solid that it shall stand 
through the ages, giving light to the world, etc." This gift 
consisted of $ 1 00,000 in bonds, and policies of insurance upon 
his own life upon which the College realized five years later. 



GIFTS AND DONORS 223 

at the time of Mr. Buchtel's death, the sum of $74,400. In 
recognition of this gift the Board of Trustees of the College 
spread the following upon their records: 

"Resolved, That this Board is profoundly impressed with the 
grand aim and devotion of the donor in making this munificent 
gift to Buchtel College in the interests of the highest progressive 
educational advantages attainable. And so far as our official 
and personal influence goes w^e pledge the institution to use these 
means to carry out the grand conception of this great philanthro- 
pist and benefactor of his race. 

"Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the donor in his 
affliction and devoutly pray that restored health and a long Ufe 
may be enjoyed by him. 

"Resolved, That we unite in this tribute the noble wife of 
Hon. Mr. Buchtel, who has grandly seconded his every eifort 
on behalf of the College." 

About the time of this gift Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel were 
both stricken with paralysis, and they remained invalids until 
their deaths. 

Altogether the gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Buchtel must have 
totaled nearly a half million dollars, a sum that in those days 
was counted large. 

One of the early gifts to the College was that of General 
Lucius V. Bierce for the purpose of buying books for a library. 
In recognition of this gift the college authorities gave his name 
to the library, and it has ever since been known as the Bierce 
Library. The total amount received from this gift was 
$4,963.75, in addition to a large number of books and relics 
of various kinds given from his own private collection. 

On November 19. 1872, Lydia A. E. Messenger of 
Springfield, Ohio, established the Messenger Professorship 
Fund of Mental and Moral Philosophy in memory of her late 
husband, the Reverend George Messenger, by a gift of 
$25,000. Again on December 20, 1880. Mrs. Messenger 
gave $30,000 additional to establish a permanent fund. 

On December 5, 1872, JoTin H. Hilton of Springfield, 
Ohio, gave $25,000 for a perpetual fund to be known as The 



224 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Hilton Professorship of Modern Languages. Mr. Hilton 
made the College residuary legatee in his last will, and upon 
the settlement of his estate the College received $4,900 
additional. 

About 1874 Mrs. Chloe Pierce of Sharpsville, Pennsyl- 
vania, contributed bonds which netted the College $10,000 
towards the foundation of a Women's Professorship, Other 
smaller gifts by a large number of other women (the records 
available do not show who these generous contributors were) 
brought this fund to $20,000. This professorship is known as 
the Pierce Professorship of English Literature. 

In 1885 Isaac Kelly of Mill Village, Pennsylvania, died 
leaving a will in which Buchtel College was made residuary 
legatee. Upon the settlement of his estate the College re- 
ceived $35,788.41, upon which amount it paid an annuity of 
three per cent per annum to each of Mr. Kelly's two daughters 
during their lives. 

On March 9, 1885, Henry Ainsworth of Lodi, Ohio, gave 
the College $30,000 to establish the Henry Ainsworth Pro- 
fessorship of Mathematics. Prior to this gift Mr. Ainsworth 
had turned over to the College real estate in 1883 which 
netted $ 1 0,000 for the purpose of endowing ten scholarships. 
In his will Mr. Ainsworth made the College his residuary 
legatee, and from this bequest $22,291.47 was received. 

Mrs. Elvira Ainsworth, widow of Henry Ainsworth, made 
the College residuary legatee of her estate, and upon her death 
the College received in 1898 the sum of $25,958.13. 

In October, 1 887, Oliver C. Ashton of Bryan, Ohio, gave 
the College $3,000 to establish the "O. C. Ashton Prize 
Fund for excellence in public reading." 

In September, 1888, Judge E. P. Green, then a trustee 
of the College, solicited and turned over, for the purposes of 
a Library Fund of the College, contributions amounting to 
$10,000 from the following donors: William Buchtel, Wil- 



GIFTS AND DONORS 225 

liam B. Doyle. Albert Allen. Thomas W. Cornell. O. C. 
Barber, and Mrs. S. O. Acomb, $1,000 each; Schoeninger 
Bros., Joy H. Pendleton, George T. Perkins, O. D. Childs, 
Lewis Miller, John F. Seiberling, and W. A. Crumrine. $500 
each; J. C. McMillen. George D. Bates, Albert B. Tinker, 
George Billow, and Edwin P. Green, $100 each. 

In November, 1888, the Reverend Andrew Willson of 
Ravenna, Ohio, who had been one of the earnest enthusiasts 
in establishing the College, and who was a most loyal friend 
throughout all the vicissitudes of the college history from its 
establishment to the time of his death, contributed $10,000 
to endow a Theological Professorship, in the hope that some 
day a theological department might be established. Upon 
this gift the College paid an annuity of six per cent during 
Doctor Willson's lifetime, and to his widow, Frances Willson, 
an annuity of four per cent during her lifetime. 

Joy H. Pendleton, on May 31, 1890, gave the College 
$1,000 to establish a Law Prize Fund. 

Upon the death of the Reverend William H. Ryder, D. D., 
late of Chicago, Buchtel College was made one of the re- 
siduary legatees under his will. From this bequest the College 
received $32,808.40. On June 24, 1891, in recognition of 
this magnificent gift which had come to the College without 
any conditions, the Board of Trustees established the Ryder 
Professorship of Elocution and Rhetoric. 

In 1 902 William Pitt Curtis of Wadsworth, Ohio, donated 
$20,000 to the endowment fund of the College, and in 1904 
augmented the fund by the addition of $5,000 more. 

In 1902 a Current Expense Fund of $1,720 was raised, 
of which sum George W. Crouse gave $1,000 and Frank H. 
Mason gave $500, the balance being contributed by others 
in smaller amounts. Again in 191 1 a canvass was made for 
a similar purpose. George W. Crouse and O. C. Barber 
each gave $4,000, F. A. Seiberling and A. H. Noah each 



226 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

gave $2,000, F. H. Mason and C. B. Raymond each gave 
$1,000, and seven other contributors gave the remaining 
$1,950 in smaller amounts, bringing the total up to $15,950. 

On June 22, 1908, the Reverend S. H. McCollester of 
Marlboro, New Hampshire, who was the first president of the 
College, made a gift of $1,000 to establish the Sophia Knight 
McCollester Fund for the benefit of the Knight Chemical 
Laboratory. Another notable gift of Doctor McCollester 
was The McCollester Natural History Collection made by 
Doctor McCollester during the early days of the College. 
All students of the institution prior to the disastrous fire in 
1899, when this collection was entirely lost, will remember 
with what interest this beautiful collection was viewed and 
studied in the room especially set apart for it on the first floor 
of East Hall. 

In 1 9 1 the most extensive campaign ever undertaken in be- 
half of the institution was inaugurated for the purpose of in- 
creasing the endowment of the College. It was largely 
carried on among the citizens of Akron. The larger con- 
tributors at this time were: George W. Crouse and F. A. 
Seiberling, $20,000 each; F. H. Mason, $10,000; Mrs. 
George T. Perkins, $5,000; A. H. Noah, $2,500; Will 
Christy, $1,000; the Reverend Edward Morris of Marietta, 
Ohio, $1,000; W. A. Johnson, H. S. Firestone, Wm. A. 
Palmer, C. I. Bruner, and The Summit B. and B. Associa- 
tion, each $500; twelve hundred and ninety-six other contrib- 
utors in smaller amounts gave $29,649.96. 

At this same time and for the same purpose the alumni 
and former students of the College raised an additional sum 
of $12,742.29. Mr. F. G. Adams gave $1,000; the Hon- 
orable Henry C. Morris of Chicago, $500; The Women's 
League of the College, $500; and four hundred and twelve 
others contributed the balance in smaller amounts. 



GIFTS AND DONORS 227 

In May, 1911, the Reverend Lotta D. Crosley of Kent, 
Ohio, made a gift of $3,000 for the purpose of establishing 
an annuity fund during her lifetime and at her death to estab- 
lish the Reverend Lotta D. Crosley Library Fund. 

Early in the history of the College the trustees authorized 
the endowment of perpetual scholarships. They placed the 
minimum amount necessary to establish such scholarships at 
$1,000. The founder of such a scholarship was privileged 
to designate at any time one person to enjoy the privileges of 
his scholarship, and any income from these scholarships not so 
used was subject to appropriation by the trustees of the Col- 
lege. Those contributing to these scholarship funds were as 
follows : 

James F. Davidson, Brimfield; Elijah Drury, Girard, Penn- 
sylvania; Eli M. Kennedy, Paris, Kentucky; Mary B. Martin, 
Lebanon; N. S. Olin, Streetsboro; John Perdue, LaFayette, 
Indiana; James Pierce, Sharpsville, Pennsylvania; John K. 
Smith, Bainbridge; Miss E. V. Stedman, Marietta; Mrs. Betsy 
Thomas, Irwin; Mrs. Betsy Dodge, McConnellsville ; John B. 
Smith, Urbana; Mr. and Mrs. George W. Steel, Painesville; 
John Espy, Millerstovs^n ; Joseph Hidy, Sr., Jeffersonville ; Mr. 
and Mrs. Henry Boszar, Brimfield; Isaac and Lovina Kelly, 
Mill Village, Pennsylvania; 1 homas Kirby, Muncie, Indiana; 
H. D. Loudenback, Westville: Mrs. John H. Hilton, Akron; 
S. T. and S. A. Moon, Cuba; Mrs. Emily W. Terrill, Jeffer- 
sonville; Geo. Thomas, Greenwich; Samuel Birdsell, Norwalk; 
Samuel Grandin, 1 idioute, Pennsylvania; N. B. and A. E. 
Johnson, Mingo; Lloyd Nichols, Walhonding; Henry Ainsworth, 
Lodi; Mr. and Mrs. John Miller, Edgerton; John Chapin, New 
Philadelphia; Christian Swank, Sheldon, Indiana; Mrs. S. O. 
Acomb, lidioute, Pennsylvania; Jane Betz, Hamilton; H. L. 
and L. J. Canfield, Pasadena, California; Hannah S. Allyn, 
Akron; Rosa G. Wakefield, Green; Delia Loring Morris, Mari- 
etta; Martha A. Bortle, Akron; William H. Slade, Columbus. 

At the Commencement of 1 882 the Alumni Association pro- 
posed to secure subscriptions from graduates of the College 
for the purpose of establishing an Alumni Scholarship. The 
Board of Trustees of the College voted to authorize such a 
scholarship and placed its disposal in the hands of the Alumni 
Association as they might deem best. As the principal of the 



228 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

fund grew by new subscriptions from time to time until it 
exceeded one thousand dollars, the amount originally deter- 
mined as necessary to endow a scholarship, the name was 
changed to the Alumni Prize Fund. The principal of this 
fund has been kept intact. At the present time it amounts 
to $2,958. During the existence of Buchtel College, prior 
to its becoming the University of Akron, the income from this 
fund was awarded by the direction of the Association as prizes 
in the form of payment of tuition, to graduates of the prepara- 
tory department, or Buchtel Academy as it became known 
later. Since 1913, when the College became the University 
of Akron, a prize of $50 each year has been awarded to the 
member of the graduating class ranking highest in scholarship 
during the four-year course of study. The following alumni 
have contributed to the fund in the order of their contributions : 

Susie Chamberlain Cole, Ella Carver Pitcairn, May L. Guy, 
Edwin F. Voris, Donna Kelly Couch, Walter C Fullington. 
Mary B. Jewett, Mara E. Laws, George S. Pleasants, Albert 
B. Tinker, Fremont Hamilton, Lizzie Houston Jone^, William 
D. Shipman, Lizzie Slade Voris, Lucy Voris Baird, Dayton A. 
Doyle, Herman A. Kelley, William H. Pleasants, Arthur A. 
Stearns, Irving C. Tomlinson, Vincent E. Tomlinson, Horatio 
T. Willson, Agnes Kuleman, James H. Aydelotte, Hattie 
Emerson DeCrow, Oakley C. Herrick, Mollie Laughead Jones, 
Jacob A. Motz, Alonzo E. Hyre, Frank O. Payne, Charles 
N. Church, Lillian Acomb Hunter, John G. Koon, Charles R. 
Olin, Abby Soule Schumacher, F. Adolph Schumacher, Mary 
Webb Canfield, Lucy Danforth Felt, James Ford, Lillie Moore 
Pardee, Marion Bell Slade, Samuel L. Thompson, Elmer J. 
Felt, Nell Dages Johnston, Elizabeth Kingsbury, Andrew A. 
Kohler, Mary Sibley Markley, Alexander W, Maynes, Grace 
Gorton Ohn, George B. Emerson, Mary McMillen Gardner, 
Addie Bleekman Guldlin, Herbert B. Briggs, Edwin F. Cone, 
J. Asa Palmer, Arthur C. Coit, Arthur J. Rowley, Vernon R. 
Andrew, William B. Baldwin, Frank M. Cooke, Edwin L. 
Findley, Carl F. Henry, Orla C. Pixley, Josephine Chaney 
Brandt, Edith J. Claypole, James E. Cole, Agnes Claypole 
Moody, Anna Thomas Eberhard, LeRoy C. Eberhard, Isabella 
Green Hardin, Willet L. Hardin, Benjamin F. Kingsbury, 
Burton D. Myers, WiUiam P. Putnam, Eva Dean, Origen S, 



GIFTS AND DONORS 229 

Dean, S. Emerson Findley, Joseph H. James. Amy I. Herriff. 
Harlan H. Hollenbeck. Herbert VV. Kennedy. 

The foregoing record enumerates the larger gifts to the Col- 
lege as far as the available records show. There have been, 
of course, a large number of other persons who have given 
smaller sums but whose gifts have signified an interest in the 
institution and loyalty to it not surpassed by those who were 
able to give the larger sums. To all these is due the grateful 
recognition of the College. Then, too, there have been others, 
who have given from time to time, nbt money, but something 
in the way of books, instruments, apparatus, specimens, ores, 
minerals, or other equipment, all of which have been valuable 
to the College in its educational work. 

One of the most noteworthy among these, aside from the 
McCollester Natural History Collection already mentioned, 
was the beautiful collection of birds, comprismg some fifteen 
hundred specimens, mostly found in Summit County, collected 
and mounted by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rhodes, late of 
Akron. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes presented these, together with 
the cases in which they are housed, to the College during their 
lifetime. 

GROUNDS 

The college campus as it stands today comprises about six 
and one-half acres of land and embraces the entire block be- 
tween Buchtel Avenue (formerly Middlebury Street) and 
Carroll Street, and extends from Sumner Street easterly to the 
present eastern limits of the campus, being about seven hun- 
dred feet long and about four hundred feet wide. The 
nucleus for the campus was a donation from the Spicer Ceme- 
tery Association of what was at that time known as the Spicer 
Hill Cemetery, a plot containing about two and eight-hun- 
dredths acres located easterly of a line formed by the exten- 
sion of the westerly line of College Street southerly to Carroll 
Street. In 1870 Mr. Buchtel purchased and gave to the 



230 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

College about two acres west of the cemetery and extending 
along Middlebury Street to Sumner Street. He also bought 
and gave to the College at about this time a strip about fifty- 
six feet wide and extending from Middlebury Street to Car- 
roll Street and adjoining the cemetery on the east. These 
parcels comprised the college campus about as it existed down 
to 1893. Since that date the various remaining lots fronting 
on Carroll Street westward to Sumner Street have been ac- 
quired from time to time until at the present time the entire 
block is embraced in the campus. 

The aggregate of the values of these various parcels as 
they have been acquired was about $37,000. Today, how- 
ever, owing to the enhanced values of lots and lands in Akron, 
the campus is probably worth $400,000 not including any 
buildings or other improvements. 

Along with the development of the College on educational 
lines, it has also been deemed advisable to provide for the 
physical training of her students. No adequate grounds were 
available, however, for this purpose until 1 89 1 . At that 
time the tract of land comprising about four acres located at 
Wheeler and Kling Streets was secured at a cost of about 
$8,400. Some $3,700 was expended in grading, draining, 
fencing, the erection of a grandstand, and the construction of 
a running track, thus making a very serviceable athletic field 
for the use of the students. Since the city took the College 
over in 1913 about $35,000 additional has been expended in 
acquiring additional ground to the south, in erecting a concrete 
grandstand, in enclosing the field with an iron fence, and in 
improving the grounds in other ways. 

BUILDINGS 

No accurate information is available as to the cost of the 
original college building, but it must have been fifty or sixty 
thousand dollars. The first additional building was the astro- 
nomical observatory, erected in 1886-7. The necessary 



GIFTS AND DONORS 231 

amount, $3,880, was secured through the active interest of 
Doctor Charles S. Howe, then professor of mathematics and 
astronomy. Though small in structure, the observatory was 
well equipped with transit circle, telescope chronograph, side- 
real and mean time clocks, and such other instruments as 
would make it useful to the students pursuing the study of 
astronomy. 

But the outstanding event in the material expansion of the 
College at this time was the building of Crouse Gymnasium. 
In the early days of the College athletics and physical train- 
ing did not hold the prominent place among college activities 
which they have come to hold in later years. Nevertheless 
we find as early as 1 880 a movement among the students look- 
ing towards the securing of a gymnasium. In the Beacon 
Journal for September 25, 1880, we find, "The young men 
of Buchtel College are making a laudable effort to secure a 
gymnasium. They have secured plans from architect F. O. 
Weary for a cheap but attractive structure forty-four by sixty 
feet with a bowling alley attached." The cost of this struc- 
ture was estimated at $800, but it seems nothing materialized 
at this time. 

With the organizing of the Buchtel College Cadets by 
Professors Howe and Jeffords in the fall of 1886, the need 
of better facilities for work in military and physical training 
became more apparent, and especially the need of a gymna- 
sium. Accordingly, on December 6 of that year the execu- 
tive committee of the Board of Trustees appointed Doctor 
Cone to take charge of the raising of funds for such a building. 

The subscription fund was started by John R. Buchtel. 
Stricken with paralysis in the spring of 1887, he was deter- 
mined not to allow this affliction to interfere with his regular 
attendance at Commencement. Accordingly, he had himself 
carried to the campus in his invalid chair. On his arrival, he 
was at once surrounded by students. He offered to give 



232 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

$1,000 toward the building of a gymnasium if the boys 
would carry him up to the chapel on the fourth floor where 
the exercises were held, an offer which was quickly accepted. 

At a meeting of the executive committee of the Board of 
Trustees held July 4 of the same year, George W. Grouse 
and Ferdinand Schumacher were appointed a committee to 
raise $20,000 for the purpose of building a gymnasium. This 
seems to have been an easy task for them, as each at once 
subscribed $5,000, and with a later additional $5,000 from 
Mr. Grouse and contributions from a few others the trick was 
turned. At the same meeting. Doctor Flowe and Professor 
Jeffords, adjunct-professor of mathematics, both of whom had 
been actively instrumental in promoting physical training in 
the Gollege, were authorized to arrange with Jacob Snyder, 
an Akron architect, for plans for the new building. Plans 
were drawn immediately and contracts let, and on August 1 5 
ground was broken for the new gymnasium. Representatives 
of the four college classes stood at the four corners of the plat 
and simultaneously raised the first four shovels of dirt, after 
which President Gone made a brief address in which he em- 
phasized the need of physical training as a regular part of 
college work. The new building was under roof by fall and 
was officially opened February 22, 1888, with a big dance 
given by the girls, of the Gollege. Jonas Pierce of Sharps- 
ville, Pennsylvania, generously donated the money for the 
equipment. The building received its name from Mr. Grouse, 
who gave about half of the total cost of the building. Thanks 
to his kindness and the generosity of many other good friends 
of the Gollege, Buchtel had one of the best gymnasiums in 
the country. 

During the year 1893 athletic spirit and enthusiasm ran 
so high, following the acquisition of the new athletic field, 
that it was thought necessary to have some suitable place for 
baseball practice during the winter and early spring before 



GIFTS AND DONORS 233 

the work could be undertaken in the field. As a resuh of 
this a movement was carried through whereby a baseball cage 
was erected to the west of the gymnasium at a cost of about 
$1,200. 

In 1892 the need for additional recitation and laboratory 
facilities became so urgent that a movement was started to 
secure funds for a new science building. Thirty thousand dol- 
lars in pledges was secured for the purpose by gifts of ten 
thousand dollars each from George W. Grouse and Ferdinand 
Schumacher of Akron and John F. Eddy of Bay Gity, Michi- 
gan. Plans were prepared, contracts were let, and the con- 
struction began early in the spring of 1893. The building thus 
started would have provided Buchtel with a most complete 
and up-to-date equipment for the needs of its scientific de- 
partments. But before the work had progressed very far, the 
severe panic and consequent business depression of that year 
were upon us, and the project had to be abandoned. A part 
of the foundation for this building was later used in the con- 
struction of the Academy building. 

The foregoing buildings served the needs of the Gollege 
until the time of the disastrous fire in December, 1 899, which 
completely destroyed the main college building, and a large 
part of its equipment. Steps were immediately taken by both 
trustees and faculty to determine how best to restore the insti- 
tutidn. The matter was proposed and seriously considered 
of removing the campus to some outlying section of the city 
where plenty of land would be available for a larger campus, 
but it was finally decided to rebuild upon the old site. A 
campaign was set on foot to raise money towards a rebuilding 
fund by gifts from the friends of the institution. Among the 
larger gifts made at this time were the following: Ira G. 
Galef, Washington, Vermont, $2,500; George T. Perkins, 
Akron, $5,000; Gharles Baird, O. G. Barber, H. G. Gamp. 
H. C. Gorson and The N. O. T. & L Co.. all of Akron. 



234 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

$1,000 each; M. O'Neil Co.. The Brewster Coal Co., 
Bruner-Goodhue-Cooke Co., Mrs. Mary M. Goodrich, F. H. 
Mason, Henry B. Robinson, Clarence Howland, and H. E. 
Merrill of Akron, and W. P. Curtis of Wadsworth, and Mrs. 
Louise Southworth of Cleveland, $500 each. The Post Of- 
fice Employees of the Akron Post Office put on a Minstrel 
Show and realized $927.71 towards the fund, and smaller 
contributions from seven hundred and six other contributors 
brought the total fund to $41,934.69. This, together with 
the amount of insurance recovered on the building and con- 
tents, viz., $63,986.62, enabled the college authorities to pro- 
ceed with the erection of new structures. 

A new policy was adopted. Instead of combining the 
old idea of recitation rooms and dormitories in one structure, 
it was decided to provide for recitation and laboratory pur- 
poses only. As a result, two new buildings were erected — 
Buchtel Hall for the collegiate department, and the building, 
more recently called Olin Hall, for the academy — the first 
at a cost of $47,466, and the second at a cost of $25,554. 
At the same time another departure was made from the former 
plan, all the buildings being heated from one central heating 
plant instead of having individual heating units in each build- 
ing. This central heating and power plant was constructed 
at a cost of $1 0,591 . This new policy of rebuilding made no 
provision for dormitories, the students attending from outside 
Akron being forced to find accommodations off the campus. 
This plan did not seem to be entirely satisfactory, particularly 
for the young women students, and for a time a house was 
rented on South Union Street and fitted up for a ladies' dor- 
mitory. Finally the raising of a fund for the erection of a 
dormitory for the ladies upon the campus was started. Colonel 
George T. Perkins contributing $ 1 ,000, The Ohio Universa- 
list Convention $1,000, Mr. Charles Baird $500, and some 
fifty others giving together $2,064.83. This formed the 



GIFTS AND DONORS 235 

nucleus for starting the building. It was completed in 1905 
and was called Curtis Cottage in honor of William Pitt Curtis 
of Wadsworth, Ohio, a generous benefactor of the institution. 
The building cost $1 1,674. 

Throughout the years of its growth and development, Buch- 
tel College had become more and more generally recognized 
as an institution of very high standards of education among 
the smaller colleges of the country. Particularly was this true 
of the science departments, due to the able and devoted serv- 
ices of Doctors Knight, Claypole, and others. The need for 
better facilities for these departments grew from year to year. 
Early in 1907 President Church reported having received 
an offer from Mr. Andrew Carnegie to give to Buchtel Col- 
lege $25,000 for the erection of a new chemistry building upon 
the usual terms attached to his gifts, viz., that the institution 
should secure additions of a like amount to its permanent en- 
dowment. Steps were immediately taken to comply with these 
conditions. Among the larger gifts to this fund were $5,000 
from O. C. Barber, $1 ,000 each from Frank Pierce of Sharps- 
ville, Pennsylvania, Charles Baird, Mrs. Charles Baird, 
George T. Perkins — all of Akron — and the Reverend An- 
drew Willson of Ravenna. The Women's League of the 
College contributed $500. The balance of the fund needed 
was made up of smaller contributions from others, so that at 
the meeting of the Board of Trustees on March 11,1 908, the 
committee having the matter in charge reported that the pro- 
ductive endowment fund of the College had been increased by 
$27,473, thus more than meeting the requirements of Mr. 
Carnegie's offer. Mr. Herbert Briggs of Cleveland, Buchtel, 
'89, was engaged to prepare the plans for the new chemistry 
building, and it was erected at a cost of $30,439. The plans 
for the interior equipment were prepared by Mr. Charles R. 
Olin of the class of 1885, who was then the secretary of 
the College. On June 1 6, 1 908, the Board of Trustees voted 



236 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"that in recognition of Doctor Knight's long and distinguished 
services, the new building be named The Knight Chemical 
Laboratory, and the name be carved upon a suitable tablet 
upon the building." 

In 1910, as noted earlier in this chapter, Mr. F. A. Seiber- 
ling pledged $20,000 to the Endowment Fund of the College 
and F. H. Mason $10,000 for the same purpose. After the 
College had been turned over to the city in December, 1913, 
by mutual agreement between these two gentlemen and the 
Board of Directors of the University these pledges were used 
in the erection of a new library building upon the campus. 
This building was completed about January, 1916, and was 
named the Carl F. Kolbe Hall, at the suggestion of Messrs. 
Mason and Seiberling, in recognition of the long, honorable, 
and efficient services of Doctor Carl F. Kolbe in Buchtel 
College. 

Soon after the establishment of the Municipal University 
there was erected on the campus the first unit of a new Engi- 
neering Laboratory, bonds for which were issued by the City 
of Akron in July, 1916, to the amount of $50,000. 



CHAPTER XIII 
ATHLETICS 

THE Akron Beacon- Journal of October 5, 1872, con- 
tains the following statement, "A game of baseball is 
being played this afternoon on the Buchtel College 
grounds. The contestants are a picked nine from town and 
the college nine." That is the only record for the year. 
When was this first athletic team to represent the College 
organized? Who was the promoting spirit in bringing about 
the organization? Who were the players? These are ques- 
tions to which available sources give no answer. 

Between 1872 and 1875 Buchtel had very good baseball 
teams. Clarence Knight, S. W. Parshall, E. Weaver and 
Bob Payne were the outstanding figures among the players. 
The games were played on the vacant lots on Carroll Street 
directly back of the college campus. Our opponents were 
Kenyon, Wooster, Reserve, and Mt. Union. In addition to 
these games, games between the various classes of the College 
and with teams representing nearby towns were played. 

There were many difficulties. The only way to get money 
for the team was to pass a subscription list. Donations of ten 
cents were welcomed. The team could afford only one base- 
ball. When in the course of a game it disappeared in one of 
the many large puddles on the field, it was necessary to call 
the game until the assembled players succeeded in fishing it 
out. It was by no means easy to get men to play. In one 
game Buchtel was compelled to play with eight men. At the 
end of the fifth inning "Irv." Weeks, the pitcher, arrived. 
This made a complete nine. 

The team of 1877 suffered a rude shock in its first game 
with Western Reserve. Our team drove to Hudson confident 



238 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

of winning. Buchtel was defeated 21 to 1. The Reserve 
battery was unusual. The catcher took them right off the bat 
all the time instead of waiting until the last strike. The 
pitcher was tall. Somehow the Buchtel boys did not seem 
able to hit against him. 

On the way home Paul Miller maintained that the ball did 
not come straight, but curved away from the batter. He said 
he had seen it do so. The others made sport of him, for they 
knew such a thing was impossible ; they proved it by the laws 
of physics. Miller was still stubborn, and unconvinced by all 
this learning. Professor Fraunfelter was appealed to. He 
was discreet in his statements, but evidently leaned toward the 
impossibility proof. While the surveying class was measuring 
the ball field on Carroll Street, the old argument came up. 
The proofs of impossibility were exhibited. Gus Guthrie lis- 
tened carefully to all the evidence. He then took three sur- 
veying poles, set them up in a line, and, standing to the south 
of the first, repeatedly threw the ball so that it passed north 
of the middle pole and south of the pole at the far end. This 
settled the argument. Guthrie threw a big, slow out-curve. 
It was a curiosity, and he was much in demand as a pitcher. 

The home games were later moved to the ball park on 
Perkins Street, where the Superior Printing Company now 
stands. The price of admission was fixed at fifteen cents. 

In 1879 the faculty recommended the establishment of a 
military company, if it could be done without cost to the Col- 
lege, but none was formed until seven years later, when Pro- 
fessors Howe and Jeffords organized the Buchtel College 
Cadets. Both of these instructors had attended colleges where 
military drill was compulsory. On the evening set for or- 
ganizing the company, forty boys responded when the com- 
mand "Fall in!" was given. It was decided to continue the 
drill at least three nights longer to see "how all would like it." 

Evidently the boys liked it, for drills were held regularly 



ATHLETICS 239 

three times a week, in the chapel during the winter months, on 
the campus as soon as the weather permitted. The organiza- 
tion was perfected, a constitution adopted, officers elected, and 
a uniform chosen. Through the kindness of Ferdinand and 
Adolph Schumacher, John R. Buchtel, and J. J. Pierce of 
Sharpsville, the company was furnished with a complete equip- 
ment of arms. 

The Cadets continued for several years. They did hard 
and earnest work. They showed that the men of the College 
really wanted physical training and were willing to work for 
it themselves. They also made clear the great need of a 
building for physical training, and were one of the leading 
factors in securing Crouse Gymnasium. 

Chief among the minor athletic activities of the early day 
was tennis. Interest in this branch of sport was not confined 
to the men, for the college women formed a tennis club of their 
own. The first men to represent Buchtel in an intercollegiate 
tennis contest were R. G. Ferguson and W. W. Howe, who, 
while attending a Phi Delta Theta convention at Wooster in 
May, 1889, played tennis against the Wooster men in the 
field-day exercises. For a time there was a fencing club at 
Buchtel, organized by a student, Carlos de Assumpcao, of San 
Paulo, Brazil. 

By far the biggest thing done for physical training at Buch- 
tel during the eighties was the securing of Crouse Gymnasium ; 
but since the story of its building is told elsewhere in this His- 
tory we shall not repeat it here. 

There are four outstanding features between 1890 and 
1 900 ; the formation of both a local and a state athletic asso- 
ciation, the purchase of an athletic field, the beginning of foot- 
ball, and the hiring of a director of athletics. 

Since 1879 there had been an organization known as the 
Buchtel College Baseball Association to further the interest 
of baseball. By 1890 the need of encouraging other sports 



240 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

made itself felt. At a meeting held February 3, 1890, the 
constitution and by-laws of the Buchtel College Athletic As- 
sociation were adopted. The object of the new association 
was the promotion of athletic sports and physical development. 
Any male student who paid the fee of one dollar and signed 
the constitution became a member. The annual dues were 
fifty cents. The constitution provided for five officers: a 
president, a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer, and a mar- 
shal. The president was a member of the senior class, the 
vice-president of the junior class. The five officers constituted 
an executive committee, which had general charge of all ath- 
letics, and had the power to appoint special committees to take 
charge of the various sports. 

For several years unsuccessful efforts had been made to 
form an association of the various colleges in the state. Feb- 
ruary 21, 1 890, at the time of the state oratorical contest, 
representatives from several colleges met at the Arcade Hotel 
in Springfield, Buchtel being represented by A. J. Rowley 
and W. B. Baldwin. Denison, Buchtel, Ohio State Univer- 
sity, and Wooster finally entered into an association, to which 
Kenyon was soon admitted. The constitution drawn up by 
Mitchell of O. S. U., Forgy of Wooster, and Baldwin of 
Buchtel, resembled the newly-adopted Buchtel constitution in 
that it provided for an executive committee consisting of the 
officers of the association, who had power to draft a schedule 
of games. An interchange of eligibility lists certified by the 
faculty was provided for. Only bona-fide students might com- 
pete, a bona-fide student being one who had "attended at least 
two college exercises for two weeks prior to the date of con- 
test," The first officers of this new-born Ohio Inter-Collegiate 
Athletic Association were: President, Bosler of Denison; 
Vice-President, Mitchell of O. S. U. ; Secretary-Treasurer, 
Forgy of Wooster. 

The Buchtel baseball team of 1890 won two games out of 



ATHLETICS 241 

eight played, and finished fourth place in the State Associa- 
tion, This same year saw the first Buchtel track-meet. It 
was held at Fountain Park, as the College had no field. 
McLean won first with a score of 67-1; Carter was second 
with 421; Coit, third with 23; Rowley, fourth with 22. In 
the State track-meet, held at Wooster, our representatives won 
two places; Myers was third in the running broad jump, and 
McLean second in the half-mile. It was in this year that 
Doctor A. A. Kohler of the class of 1 887, who was medical 
examiner and director of gymnasium work, began giving his 
annual exhibitions of the work of his class. Until 1 896 these 
exhibitions, consisting of gym work and stunts by the students, 
were annual events attracting large numbers of town people to 
the hill. 

The following year, 1891, active steps were taken to se- 
cure an athletic field. At the faculty meeting, October 2, a 
committee of three was appointed to confer with the executive 
committee of the Athletic Association and to investigate the 
matter of procuring grounds suitable for athletic purposes. 
The next April the present athletic field was purchased for 
$8,500, and work was started at once on grading the grounds 
and erecting a grandstand. This meant a great deal for ath- 
letics. With her new gymnasium and also an athletic field of 
her own, Buchtel now had an excellent equipment for physical 
training. 

Several other events important to athletics occurred in 1891 . 
The gymnasium was completely overhauled. The presidency 
of the State Athletic Association came to Buchtel, J. J. 
Campbell holding the office. Adelbert was admitted to the 
State Association, and Wooster withdrew because of faculty 
action forbidding intercollegiate competitions. In baseball the 
big event of the season for Buchtel was the defeating of O. S. 
U., 4 to 0. In this game the Buchtel nine played errorless 
ball. Robert J. Osborne, of the class of '93, a short time 



242 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

before his death in 1919 made this comment on the kind of 
baseball Buchtel played in the early nineties: 

"I recall that we had during the seasons of '90, '9 1 , '92, and 
'93 very successful teams. One of our strongest men was Lee 
Briggs, the crack twirler of the State Association, largely through 
a baffling drop. 'Doc' Brownell was a faithful student at the 
College during these years; I think he took penmanship and 
deportment. He was a valuable adjunct to the battery." 

But the most important athletic happening at Buchtel in 
1891 was the beginning of intercollegiate football. For sev- 
eral years the annuals had published the names of the members 
of the football team and in the fall of 1890 a game was ac- 
tually played between the upperclassmen and the freshmen, the 
former winning 30 to 8. But no intercollegiate games were 
played prior to 1 891 . 

All credit is due the members of this first team. They were 
without the assistance of a coach. Robert J. Osborne speaks 
as follows of that time : 

"The game was a much fiercer proposition than at present. All 
massed plays were in vogue, including the flying wedge, and 
when twenty-two men came together after a five or ten-yard start, 
in a double-V formation, something happened to the men in the 
front lines of those Vs. A man could not be taken out of the 
game unless he had received sufficient damage to disable him 
from further participation. Broken arms, legs, noses, shoulders, 
ribs, etc., were in the inventory of every game. 

"I do not remember just what games were played that year, 
but do remember Case at Cleveland, Western Reserve at Hud- 
son, and Kenyon on the new Buchtel field with elderbush stubs 
sticking up in sundry places. You know it was the fashion then 
for the man with the ball to keep on crawling with twenty-one 
men, more or less, on top of him, as the ball was not 'down' so 
long as in motion, no matter how much the player might be dovm. 
The only efl^ective way to stop crawling was to jump on the 
fellow's head and ram his face into the ground." 

The practise of the football team was a great novelty, and 
many came to see "the confused mass of legs and arms," as it 
is called by one worthy who undertook to describe it. Our 
first football game was played against Reserve at Hudson. 



ATHLETICS 243 

Buchtel lost by a score of 22 to 6. The Kenyon team came 
to Akron November 5, and in the first game of intercollegiate 
football ever played in Akron defeated the Buchtel team 42 
to 0. In this game McLean squirmed out of a mass formation 
with the ball and ran to Kenyon's ten-yard line before he was 
downed. The ball flew out of his hands as he fell. The re- 
porter, in describing the incident, says, "The ball fell out of 
McLean's hands as he fell, and went rolling away, but was 
almost immediately sat down upon by the other players." 
Case defeated us badly, but we were able to hold O. S. U. 
to a single touchdown in the last game of the season. 

In 1892 the baseball team was unable to improve its posi- 
tion of '91 in the State Association, and again finished in third 
place. As the new athletic field was not yet ready for use, 
the games were played, as in former years, on the West Hill 
grounds. In the fall thirty-five men responded to the call foi 
candidates for football, and practise games were played against 
the team of the Akron Athletic Club, which was organized 
late in September. The formal opening of the new athletic 
grounds took place October 15, the day of the first game of 
the season. Before the game the college band paraded the 
streets, the members of the Buchtel and Case teams following in 
wagons. Case defeated us 1 4 to 9. 

We now come to the last of the four outstanding features in 
Buchtel athletics between 1890 and 1900, the policy of em- 
ploying a director of athletics. 

It was becoming evident that if Buchtel was to hold her 
own with the other teams of the state she must have an ath- 
letic coach. Lee Briggs, who was with his brother in Cleve- 
land, had secured Mr. Cook of the Cleveland Athletic Club 
to come to Akron from time to time to assist the 1892 team. 
Improvement in charging and interfering for the runner was 
at once apparent. The victories of the season were over 
Denison on a muddy field, over Hiram in the last game of 



244 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

the season, and over the team of the Akron Athletic Club 
in the first Thanksgiving Day game of football played in 
Akron. 

The improvement show^n by the football team of 1892 
under the teaching of Mr. Cook strengthened the desire of 
the boys to secure a permanent director of athletics. With 
this idea in mind, a self-appointed committee of four called 
upon Doctor Kohler, the instructor in gymnasium vv^ork. He 
was willing to assist by resigning, if a capable coach could be 
found who would devote all his time to the College. President 
Cone was heartily in favor of the plan, and promised to ar- 
range with the Board of Trustees to pay the salary of the 
new director. The boys at once began correspondence with 
J. W. Heisman, who had coached the undefeated Oberlin 
team of 1892. While attending the law school of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1891, 
Mr. Heisman had played on the football and baseball teams. 
He is the Heisman now known to everyone interested in ath- 
letics as the successful coach in recent years of the teams of 
Georgia Tech. of Atlanta, Georgia; at present he is coach at 
the University of Pennsylvania. He was hired, and began 
work at Buchtel February 1, 1893. 

The coming of Mr. Heisman made the year 1893 a most 
significant one. The first thing to be done was the building 
of a baseball cage, toward the construction of which the boys 
had promised to raise four hundred dollars. Work was started 
February 13. To hasten the work, the men of the College, 
under Heisman's direction, put on the shingles. By the sale 
of season tickets for all athletic events, and the help of about 
two hundred dollars cleared at the fourth annual "Gym. Ex.," 
the boys were able to pay their share of the expense. 

The boys started the baseball season with high hopes. Jim 
Gardner was the star performer of a team which included such 
players as Cassidy, Fisher and Brownell. Gardner later went 



ATHLETICS 245 

into the big leagues. He pitched for the Pittsburgh team of 
the National League for a time, and was later manager of the 
Toronto team. Of his pitching against the Cleveland National 
League team the papers say, "He displays remarkable head 
work, has great speed, a phenomenal change of pace, and 
puzzling curves; he never loses his head; he watches bases like 
a hawk; and fields his position well." However, the team 
was unlucky. When they were about to start on their southern 
trip to meet Kenyon, Denison, and O. S. U., Burke Johnson 
broke his leg, and Gardner was called home by sickness in 
the family. Without Gardner all the games away from home 
were lost. The great disappointment over the outcome in base- 
ball found some compensation in the excellent work of the 
football team the following fall. Of seven games played, 
Buchtel won five, and scored 276 points to 82 scored by her 
opponents. 

In the course of the baseball season there had been feeling 
between Kenyon and Buchtel because of the work of the 
umpires. This destroyed the State Association which had 
been formed in 1 890. The State field-meet was to be held at 
Buchtel June 1, 1893. Kenyon and Adelbert sent delegates 
to the meeting held to arrange the events, but none appeared 
from Denison or O. S. U. At this meeting Adelbert wished 
to place two men in each event instead of one as provided in 
the constitution. They also wished to use Stage, a crack dash 
man, who was a student of the dental college of Western 
Reserve University, but not of Adelbert College. To this 
Myers and Simpson, the Buchtel delegates, objected. They 
felt that Kenyon and Adelbert were combined against them, 
and handed in the resignation of Buchtel. This the others 
refused to accept, but voted that the name of Buchtel be 
stricken from the Association. This quarrel was never patched 
up, and the spring of 1 893 saw the end of the Association. 



246 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

At the end of the baseball season the following year, 1 894, 
Mr. Heisman severed his official connection with the College. 
For some time there had been a growing feeling of protest in 
the faculty against the evil inherent in our athletic system, its 
tendency to train the few and neglect the many. This is made 
evident by the following letter from the faculty to Mr. 
Heisman : 

"Dear Sir, 

"At a meeting of the faculty February 23, 1894, it was voted 
that we communicate to the trainer and the managers of the 
athletic teams that, in the judgment of the faculty, the athletic 
sports should be for the benefit of the regular students of the col- 
lege; and that the main object should not be to win in the contests 
in which the clubs may participate, but to minister to the physical 
development of those engaged in this exercise. 
"Very truly, 

"Chas. C. Bates, Sec't." 

Although no longer officially connected with Buchtel, Mr. 
Heisman once more appeared in the field with a Buchtel team. 
This was in the game with O. S. U. at the Ohio State Fair 
at Columbus in 1894. Mr. Heisman has been kind enough 
to write the following letter concerning this game and his work 
at Buchtel as Director of Athletics: 

"Professor Chas. Bulger, 

"Municipal University of Akron, 
"Akron, Ohio. 
"My dear Sir: 

"I note that you desire some information regarding athletics 
at Buchtel during the time that I occupied the position there of 
Athletic Director. That was quite a long time ago, but I shall 
be happy to give you what information I can, the same depending 
entirely on the strength of my recollections, inasmuch as I have 
no written or printed records. 

"On an enclosed sheet I give, to the best of my remembrance, 
the hneups of the baseball teams for 1893 and 1894, and also 
of the football teams for the season of I 893, these being the only 
three athletic seasons during which I was connected with Buchtel. 

"I have also set down the general result of all the games we 
played during those three seasons. I cannot recall the exact 
scores of all, but have put down those I felt reasonably sure of. 

"We also put out a track team during the spring of 1894, 



ATHLETICS 247 

and it was a pretty fair team. But we failed to get a meet of 
any kind. The Ohio Inter-collegiate was scheduled to take place 
with us that spring, but only two other teams showed up on the 
date of the meet, and one of those insisted on putting into compe- 
tition certain athletes who were barred by the Constitution, and 
the other college sent but two men, so the thing never came off. 
"Athletics, as I remember matters, was a very difficult thing at 
Buchtel at that time. 1 here were only a little over a hundred 
male students in attendance, and such a large proportion of these 
worked their way through that there were still fewer remaining 
who had any time to go out for athletics. In football, for in- 
stance, we had no scrub team whatever, and it was most difficult 
to keep as many as a dozen men on the field or well enough 
shaped up physically to go into the games. Under the circum- 
stances I fancy we really did well enough. 

"The baseball team- of 1 894 was a good team. The team of 
1893 would have been equally good, or even better, had it not 
been for the fact that just about as we got shaped up for the 
opening of the season our star player and crack pitcher, Jim 
Gardner, was compelled to leave college, owing to a death in 
his family, I believe. This shot us to pieces, inasmuch as Gardner 
played an infield position when not pitching; and we were left 
in no shape to fill his shoes on such short notice. This was also 
on the eve of our state trip, on which we lost all the games I 
have set down. I think we would easily have won all but one 
of those games had we had Gardner with us. 

"By the way, this boy Gardner was as good an amateur 
pitcher as I have ever seen. He hailed from Pittsburgh, Pa., and 
shortly after leaving college he was signed up by the Pittsburgh 
National League team, with which aggregation he made good. 
Later he managed the Toronto team in the Eastern League. I be- 
lieve he died some years later. 

" *Doc' Brownell was an Akron boy and may still be engaged 
there in the music business, for aught I know. He was a nifty 
ball player. 

"So was Frank Fisher, who lived adjacent to the campus and 
who played outfield in '93 and caught in '94, filling both posi- 
tions to great advantage. Frank also played full on the Eleven, 
and did it to my entire satisfaction. 

"Tommy Cassidy was one of the neatest infielders I have ever 
had under me. He came from close to Akron and studied medi- 
cine after leaving Buchtel. 

"Wise, the right tackle of the football team, was the most 
talented player on the team, and would have made a great player 
had he only cared for the game. He was not only large and 
strong and fast, but he had the proper aggressiveness. 

"Jerry Simpson was a pretty good baseball player. He was 
not a natural player, but by extreme persistency and hard trying 



248 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

he made of himself a dependable performer. He afterwards be- 
came a lawyer. 

"You ask that I give you a more detailed statement of the 
game we played at the Ohio State Fair in I 894. The game to 
which you refer took place in Columbus on September 1 , 1 894. 
A football tournament was held in which six Ohio teams were 
invited to participate; viz., O. S. U., O. W. U., Wittenberg, 
Buchtel, and two others, whom I forget. These were to be 
paired off to play three games, and we drew O. S. U. The 
players of each winning team were to be rewarded with a full 
football outfit, and, in addition, the team that scored the highest 
number of points in the three games was to be given a football 
apiece for each player of that team, as nearly as I can recall. 

"Our game with O. S. U. was the first on the docket, and 
was started at noon exactly, under a broiling, tropical sun. The 
halves were to be twenty minutes each, with the proviso that if 
the game was a tie at the expiration of the time then the tied 
teams were to continue play until one team or the other scored 
again and thus won the game. 

"I cannot recall our full lineup, but I know it included Putt, 
Knight, Wise, Taylor, Burke Johnson, Frank Fisher, Carl 
Webster, and myself. The training had to take place, you see, 
in August, when it was impossible to get all the players of the 
preceding season together. If I remember rightly, we had in the 
lineup one or two other chaps who happened to be camping with 
us at Silver Lake. But that was nothing, for O. S. U., and 
every other team in the tournament, had as many outsiders as 
we, or more. This state of affairs was so unavoidable that no 
team asked any questions or raised any objection whatever to the 
personnel of any other in the tournament. 

"Great Scott! but it was hot during that camping spiel; and 
to get out every day at exactly noon — for we knew that was the 
hour at which the real games would be called — and practise for 
an hour or more, was almost heroic work. 

"It is with difficulty that I recall details of the game we played. 
I know that all the players of both teams were half dead before 
the first half was over. I also recall that each team had scored 
a touchdown and kicked its goal, making the score 6-6 at the 
end of the first half. And I distinctly remember that Frank Fisher 
had the 'sun staggers' at the end of that first half, and could 
no longer see a thing. I didn't know what on earth we would 
do without him, for we had hardly a sub of any kind. When 
time was up Frank found himself slowly improving, but was still 
unable to visualize objects clearly, and I was in a quandary. But 
just then the O. S. U. captain came up and wanted to know if we 
wouldn't let him have a few minutes more time. He said his 
men were all used up and overcome vsath the heat, and he was 
afraid some players of either side might get a sunstroke if we 



ATHLETICS 249 

continued immediately. I assured him that was my fear exactly, 
and told him to take as much time as he liked, for which he was 
very grateful. 

"Well, in about ten minutes more we were both ready to re- 
sume hostilities. And then we seesawed back and forth another 
twenty minutes without either team's achieving another point. One 
time we had the ball on their 2-yard line, and then I, at quarter- 
back, had to make the only fumble we had all day. But the 
game was played in a field of stubble that stood four and six 
inches high, and it was marvellous we hadn't had a dozen fumbles 
ere that. 

"About this time the timekeeper announced that time was up. 
So we both agreed to another ten-minute rest, and after that all 
hands went at it again. O. S. U. had the ball, and they worked 
it gradually almost to mid-field before we could take it away 
from them. And then we took another crack at it. Working 
mostly off-tackle smashes, with both our halves and both our 
ends, we gained seldom less than three yards; and in those days 
we had only to make five yards in three trials. All the time I 
was saving Fisher, our full back, as much as I could, because he 
still was 'seeing things,' though continually getting better, and be- 
sides I wanted to have one fresh man when we got down neai 
the promised land. 

"Finally we found their goal line looming up less than foui 
yards away. At this juncture I deliberately stopped and made 
our men a little talk, reciting that we had been down there once 
before and that I myself had thrown our chance away by a rotten 
fumble; but that there wasn't going to be another fumble, and 
that this time we were going over, if only everybody would get 
into this one play. So said they all, and I called for Frank to 
buck through their right tackle. 

"I got hold of the ball safely and stuck it squarely into his 
bread-basket. Fortunately he either saw or felt it — and got it. 
T hen away we all went like mad. I think about every man on 
the team had his hands on Frank somewhere, for that was in 
the days when hiking the runner was the big thing in the game. 
I recall I had hold of him by the back of his jersey and was 
going in front of him. And we all went through together, just 
like the water of a mill-dam when the dam goes out. With a 
last yank I tore the jersey clear off Frank's back — but what did it 
matter since we were across? We kicked the goal, and our score 
was 1 2 — the highest made in any of the three games played — the 
other two games resulting in 6-0 each. 

"By the way, let me express my surprise that anybody still at 
Buchtel recalls that I was ever there; it has been so long ago. 
Might I ask you to take the trouble to send me a catalogue, just 
to see what members of the old faculty are with you, and such 
things ? 



250 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"Trusting the above may be of some slight service to you, I 
remain, 

"Yours very truly, 

"J. W. Heisman." 

With the going of Heisman, interest in athletics became 
uncertain and erratic. The period from 1894-1908 produced 
some good players, but there was no continuity of effort except 
for basketball, which began in 1902 and has been continued 
ever since. A hired coach is absolutely essential to any sus- 
tained interest in football, as was clearly shown by the hap- 
hazard history of the game at Buchtel until the coming of 
Doctor Bradley as coach in the fall of 1908. 

The football team of 1894 was disbanded almost as soon 
as formed. In the year 1 895 rather unsuccessful baseball and 
football teams represented the College. Athletics were entirely 
quiescent in 1896. Some attempt to play baseball was made 
in 1 897. The following year was the Spanish-American war 
year, and athletics were at a standstill. The baseball schedule 
for 1899 was cancelled after a few games had been played. 

With only two men in school who had ever played in a 
game of football, an attempt was made to organize a team 
in the fall of 1899. Eves, who had played with the East 
End Athletic club for several years, acted as coach. Price 
was captain; Robinson, manager. Encouraged by their vic- 
tory over the Catholic Young Men's Association by a score 
of 10 to 0, they arranged a game with Baldwin- Wallace, 
even though the manager risked eternal bankruptcy in making 
the splendid guarantee of fifty dollars for the game. Buchtel 
won by a score of 1 1 to 0. Two games were then arranged 
with Mt. Union, both to be played at Alliance. In the first 
game, November 25, Buchtel was defeated by the score of 
11 to 5. The second game was not played, for Buchtel, 
disgusted with the treatment received at Mt. Union, cancelled 
the Thanksgiving Day game and disbanded. 



ATHLETICS 251 

In minor sports, Rowell, Myers, Kolbe, and Barnes or- 
ganized a bowling team at this time which defeated some of 
the best teams in the city. On the whole, however, the ath- 
letic situation was far from encouraging. The equipment of 
the gymnasium was not renewed ; the fence around the athletic 
field was neglected, and most of it carried away for fire wood ; 
and when the grandstand burned in a mysterious manner one 
night, Buchtel was left with an athletic field without a fence 
and a gymnasium without equipment. 

As a result, the story of athletics from 1900 to 1904 is a 
sorry one. There were scattered efforts to have a football 
team, but these were so unsuccessful that by 1 904 all thought 
of having a team vanished. Baseball was little better, in 
spite of the interest and active assistance of the Reverend Mr. 
Place of Akron, a graduate of the University of Chicago, who 
did all in his power to help in both football and baseball. An 
effort was also made to revive tennis, but Kolbe and Myers 
were defeated in both the singles and doubles in a contest at 
Wooster, and no more matches were played. The one gleam 
of light during these years is the excellent work in basketball. 
Doctor Knight, who had seen the game played in the East, 
was the first to bring the basketball idea to Buchtel. It was 
first taken up by the girls of the Academy, and later by the 
academy boys, who, in 1901, organized the first men's basket- 
ball team on the campus. Maurice Knight makes his first 
appearance as manager with this team. In the year next fol- 
lowing, his name appears so frequently as manager of various 
teams that one has the feeling he was a sort of general manager 
of athletics during his time in school. Indeed, his interest has 
not ceased with graduation. It is as strong now as ever, and 
in any emergency "Mose" is certain to be called upon for 
advice and help. 

Buchtel's first college basketball team was organized soon 
afterward and the first game was played at Mt. Union January 



252 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

9, 1902, the Buchtel team being defeated by a score of 
1 20 to 9. In the following year the college team, by defeating 
the team of the East End Athletic Club, clearly won the cham- 
pionship of the city. For several years the second team 
played games with nearby high schools under the name of the 
Buchtel Independents; this offered a splendid chance to de- 
velop material for the varsity. It was not until the season of 
1904, however, that anything unusual was done in basketball. 
In this year Mt. Union, Reserve, Hiram, The University of 
West Virginia, and the University of Indiana were defeated. 
The credit for this good work belongs largely to Mr. Earl 
Williams, who gave his time generously and without compen- 
sation to coaching the team. The big event while he was 
coach, and the big event in the lives of all who were students 
at Buchtel in 1908, was the defeat of the basketball team of 
Yale on New Year's day, 1908. The following account of 
that game is taken with slight alteration from The Buchtelite 
of the time : 

"Before the largest and most enthusiastic crowd that ever as- 
sembled in Crouse Gym. to witness a basketball game, the 
Varsity defeated the strong quintet from Yale by the score of 
36 to 30 on January 1 st. It was another case of David and 
Goliath. Yale, flushed with numerous victories won on a tour 
of the southern and western states, was over-confident and ex- 
pected an easy victory, while the Buchtel players had trained and 
practised hard for the big game and played as though their lives 
depended on victory. 

'Yale started the game with substitute forwards. Carnahan 
could, with an effort, out-jump the Yale center, and Buchtel had 
a chance to use some of her team-work. Yale was taken by 
surprise and played off her feet. Buchtel scored eight points 
before Coach Lush realized that, if Yale won, she would have 
to play her best men. Murphy and Wrenn were benched, and 
Chfford and Kinney, the two star players of the Yale team, were 
sent in. Kinney's work on the tour was little short of phenomenal. 
He seemed able to shoot baskets from any position and played 
half of Yale's game, making seven baskets in all. 

"After the new players were substituted, Buchtel had harder 
work to get team-work started and the scores came slower. The 
teams were evenly matched. Yale was heavier, but Buchtel 



ATHLETICS 253 

made up in speed what she lacked in weight. The first half 
ended with the score 1 8 to 1 2 in Buchtel's favor. 

"In the second half Yale replaced Cushman at guard by F. 
Murphy. Buchtel retained the same lineup throughout the game. 
Yale led such a fast pace that it began to tell on both teams near 
the end, and the last five minutes of play was slower than the 
remainder of the game. Buchtel played a defensive game. 

"For Buchtel it would be hard to say which man put up the 
best game. Buchtel is proud of every one of them. Captain 
Jahant set things going by caging the first basket. While he 
did not make as many baskets as Smith, he played a sterling 
game. Smith threw five baskets. Carnahan, at center, outplayed 
his man, and a great deal of credit is due him for the way in 
which he tipped the ball at the toss-up. Both Harpham and 
Iredell, at guard, played a strong game. Harpham broke up 
Yale's team-play time and again. While Iredell's man shot the 
most baskets, he was the best player on the Yale team without 
question, and Iredell did well against him. Harpham shot 
twelve fouls out of fourteen trials." 

This basketball victory over Yale was doubtless one of the 
most significant events in the history of Buchtel athletics. 

During these years several attempts were being made to 
encourage men to take greater interest in athletics. In 1902 
Mr. Frank Fisher, of the teams of '93, showed his continued 
interest in athletics by offering two silver cups as prizes for 
track; one to go to the individual athlete making the greatest 
number of points three years in succession at the annual track- 
meet; the other, known as the Class Cup, to remain the per- 
manent property of the Athletic Association, and to be in- 
scribed each year with the name of the class scoring the largest 
number of points. In addition, Mr. Fisher offered a medal 
each year to the contestant scoring the greatest number of 
points. The notice of Mr. Fisher's gift was announced in 
chapel November 3, 1902. In the fall of 1906 the Athletic 
Association took up the matter of giving some award, and 
after discussion voted to grant a gold Block B for football, 
a smaller B for baseball, a still smaller one for track, and an 
Old English B for basketball. 



254 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Some progress was also being made during these years in 
two important matters: required physical training, and higher 
standards of eligibility to play on teams. Shortly after the 
coming of Doctor Joseph C. Rockwell as the successor of 
Professor Bates, gymnasium drill was revived, and, under 
Doctor Rockwell's supervision, was required of all freshmen. 
When, in the fall of 1 906, Charles H. Shipman was employed 
as teacher of mathematics in the Academy, it was arranged 
that he should take charge of the gym. work and coaching; 
as a result, a little short-lived interest in football was aroused. 

Late in 1 902 a new rule on eligibility to play on teams was 
adopted by the faculty. The student must be passing at least 
eight hours of work in the College or Academy, the School of 
Art or Music, and he must attend classes regularly. Several 
members of the basketball team of 1903, being unable to 
meet this simple requirement, were declared ineligible. This 
idea of an irreducible minimum in scholarship for athletes was 
a new one to the student body, and some friction resulted from 
the enforcement; but Doctor Rockwell, chairman of the com- 
mittee on athletics, stuck by his guns, and a much-needed step 
forward was taken in control of athletics. The requirement 
for scholarship was once more taken up by the faculty in the 
fall of 1 906, and this new rule was passed : 

"Any student of Buchtel College whose work shall be below 
70 per cent in any subject for a period of two weeks shall not be 
eligible to represent the College as player or officer on any team 
or in any public athletic contest during the following two weeks, 
nor after the expiration of such two weeks, until such deficiency 
is made up to the satisfaction of the instructor in charge." 

It was becoming more and more apparent that the entire 
system of athletics had proven itself unsatisfactory. Student 
managers, always inexperienced and often incapable, were 
elected each year. The funds available were never sufficient 
for the needs of the teams. A small incidental fee was col- 
lected from all students for the support of athletics, the part 



ATHLETICS 255 

contributed by the girls being given to their own athletic asso- 
ciation. Frequent subscriptions were raised among the students, 
and Doctor Parke R. Kolbe several times raised money among 
the alumni for athletic purposes; but even with these additions 
there was never enough, and bills were contracted from year 
to year. The students who made them left college, and the 
bills remained unpaid. This brought the College into such ill 
repute that the faculty was forced to take action; March 9, 
1908, it was voted "that further intercollegiate athletics be 
suspended until the deficit in basketball and the probable deficit 
in baseball be provided for, and that the financial condition of 
athletics at Buchtel be put before the Student Council for 
adjustment." 

This action precipitated much momentary activity. A com- 
mittee from the Board of Trustees met with the student body 
and made a rather ineffectual report to the Board at its June 
meeting, to the effect that a faculty manager of athletics was 
necessary but the College could not afford to hire him ; that, if 
possible, a part-time teacher be secured who could devote one- 
half his time to coaching; and that for the coming year the 
trustees appropriate a sum equal to all funds which had been 
raised for athletic purposes by the students during the year. 
The Buchieliie made the suggestion that the management of 
all teams be in the hands of a committee consisting of a faculty 
member, a graduate, and an undergraduate. 

All this discussion clearly showed the need of three things: 
a coach, some permanent form of management, and additional 
funds. In short, everyone saw that permanent organization 
and continuous management were prerequisite to athletic 
progress. 

The following fall saw the first steps taken toward securing 
this continuous management. Doctor Kolbe began to assist 
in the making of the schedules. Thus there was always some 
one to whom the student manager could turn for advice and 



256 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

assistance. Although there was nowhere authority for such 
an office, Doctor Kolbe took upon himself the duties of a 
faculty manager of athletics because the need for such an 
officer was evident. 

Working entirely upon his own initiative, Sleeter Bull, the 
football manager, hired Doctor Bradley, a graduate of the 
University of Pennsylvania, as coach for the following year, 
Bradley reported for duty and, being hired, there was nothing 
to do but raise the money for his salary. Doctor Kolbe worked 
with a committee from the Alumni Association to raise funds; 
the trustees aided, and Buchtel once more had a coach. Brad- 
ley was a good football teacher, and did excellent work with 
the team. He left suddenly at the end of the season. This 
experience convinced the authorities that the College itself 
ought to hire and pay the director of athletics. 

In the fall of 1 909 Clarence Weed of Olivet College came 
to Buchtel as part-time teacher of mathematics and director of 
athletics. He remained a year. Doctor Bradley had put a 
football team in the field after four years of stagnation ; Weed 
kept the enthusiasm alive ; but it was Frank Haggerty of Colby 
College, who came to Buchtel in the fall of 1910, who firmly 
established the College in the athletic world. 

The 3 to victory of the 1910 football team over the 
Oberlin team which later held Cornell to a scoreless tie gives 
some idea of the quality of this team. It is doubtful whether 
Buchtel has ever had so much real football material available 
as in the fall of that year. It first showed its quality by hold- 
ing Reserve to a 7 to score on a muddy field. Although 
the only score of the game with Oberlin in the following week 
was made by Wilhoyt's drop-kick from the 45 -yard line, 
Buchtel easily carried the ball for twice as many yards as the 
Oberlin team. After these two games the team hit its real 
stride and defeated Wooster by a score of 31 to 0. Hiram 
was defeated 40 to 0. Going out of her class to play, Buchtel 



ATHLETICS 257 

lost the next game to Notre Dame by a score of 51 to 0. 
Several men were badly injured in this game. It was not 
until several disastrous games with the heavy teams of the 
Michigan Agricultural College that we learned the folly of 
playing against schools so much larger than our own. The 
most intense game of the season was that with Mt. Union. 
In the third period Mount scored a goal from the field, the 
first score of the game. As the fourth quarter neared its close, 
the hearts of Buchtel rooters sank, for defeat seemed certain. 
Then, in the last minute of play, Jackson completed a forward 
pass to Wilhoyt, who dodged five Mt. Union men and fell 
across the line for the touchdown which gave us the victory 
5 to 3. The timers signalled the end of the game just after 
the touchdown was made. Defeats of Heidelberg, Allegheny, 
and Marietta brought to a close a highly successful campaign. 

Oberlin had defeated Ohio State, Case, and Reserve in the 
course of the season. On the strength of this record she was 
hailed as conference champion by the newspapers, although 
both Case and State had won a greater percentage of the 
total games played. Since Buchtel was the only team to de- 
feat Oberlin, the local papers were loud in their claim that the 
championship of the state really belonged to the Buchtel team. 

The most intense game played during Mr. Haggerty's stay 
was the game with West Virginia Wesleyan in 1913. Of 
this game a local paper says : 

"The score — Buchtel 9. Wesleyan 7 — is itself a story of the 
closely-contested struggle at Buchtel Field Saturday afternoon. 
The battle was desperate. It was close throughout and was not 
settled until the final moment. It was spectacular and thrilhng. 
Many times at critical stages a sigh of relief could be heard 
throughout the stands when Wesleyan's well-founded plays failed, 
some of them by the slightest margin. 

"Buchtel, crippled and outweighed, went into the game with 
hardly a chance to win. The Wesleyan squad came here fresh 
from conquering West Virginia University, and were confident 
of victory. But Buchtel had determination. To that 'never quit 
spirit which has developed, may be attributed the win." 



258 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"Greasy" Neal, who has since become prominent in the 
football world, right end for Wesleyan, was the individual 
star of the game. For Buchtel, Sidnell, Ross, Ranney, 
Palmer, Crisp, and Waldsmith covered themselves with glory. 
Within two minutes after play had started Sidnell kicked a 
goal from field from the forty-yard line and at a difficult angle. 
The game now swayed back and forth. Neither team made 
first down consistently. Garrett's long run from Palmer's 
punt from Buchtel's twenty-yard line was responsible for 
Wesleyan's touchdown. He was downed on our ten-yard 
line. Stansbury, Wesleyan's quarter, carried the ball over on 
straight bucks. In the third quarter Wesleyan punted out 
of bounds on their thirty-yard line; Sidnell, Ross, Driesbach, 
and Crisp advanced the ball ten yards on line plays; Wes- 
leyan was penalized ten yards; Palmer ran around left end 
for a touchdown. The last quarter brought no additional 
score. 

From the standpoint of a compact internal organization of 
athletics, there was considerable progress during the years Mr. 
Haggerty was coach. In the spring of 1910 Professor Bulger 
had come to Buchtel to take the place of Doctor Kolbe while 
he was abroad. Beginning with the following fall he worked 
in conjunction with manager Read of the football team and 
from then on gradually took into his own hands the general 
control of the athletic situation. The making of schedules and 
the handling of the funds of the association were taken out of 
the hands of the students. This established a permanent point 
in the system and greatly aided us in the fight for recognition 
from other schools. A good team is of little avail to an insti- 
tution unless its relations with sister institutions are such as to 
enable it to readily construct an advantageous list of games. 

The constitution of the association was revised so as to pro- 
vide for the offices of a faculty manager and a faculty treas- 
urer. Mr. C. R. Olin, who had for years acted in that 



ATHLETICS 259 

capacity, became faculty treasurer; Professor Bulger was 
named faculty manager by President Church. These two 
officers, together with an additional representative from the 
faculty and two undergraduates, constitute a board of control 
which has charge of everything connected with physical train- 
ing. Professor Bulger continued as faculty manager until the 
fall of 1914, when he left for a year of graduate study at 
the University of Wisconsin. K. D. Smith then filled the 
position for two years, and when he resigned to enter indus- 
trial work Luke Brickley of the English department took up 
the duties. Mr. Brickley enlisted in the spring of 1917. 
Since that time the position of faculty manager has been filled 
by Fred Sefton of Colgate, who came to Akron in the fall 
of 1915 as director of physical training. 

In addition, a method by which any student may put him- 
self in nomination for any office, ballots being cast according 
to the Australian system, was worked out by Professor Bulger 
and Doctor Kolbe. It has proven an extremely satisfactory 
way to handle student elections. A system of control of the 
class work of athletes was also put into effect. Regular 
weekly reports on the classroom work of athletes are called 
for. As soon as these show that this work is not satisfactory 
he is warned that it must improve by a given date or he will 
be excluded. It is rarely necessary to exclude a man under 
this system. Mention must also be made of the rules adopted 
in the spring of 1915 by which the captaincy of a team goes 
to the man who has played the greatest length of time at that 
sport. This, together with a rule requiring all candidates for 
team managerships to work in the preceding year as assistant- 
manager in order to be eligible for candidacy, helped eliminate 
frict on on the teams and strengthen the internal organizaton. 

Another good thing done while Mr. Haggerty was coach 
was the enclosing of the athletic field. Mr. Haggerty talked 
a great deal about the need of having the field enclosed, and 



260 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

wrote about it in The Buchtelite and the city papers. To 
Doctor Kolbe belongs the direct credit for having it accom- 
pHshed. He went to Mr. F. A. Seiberling, Mr. A. H. Noah, 
and Mr. Frank Mason, and when the situation was explained 
they gladly agreed to buy the lumber for the fence and grand- 
stand. The athletic association had enough money to pay for 
the building of the grandstand and bleachers. 

It was proposed that the students show their college spirit 
by erecting the fence. After the posts had been set and the 
stringers laid, this was actually done in May, 1912. Doctor 
Kolbe and Professor Bulger divided the male students of the 
College into teams, each under the command of a captain, 
and each assigned to a definite section of fence. Boards 
enough for each section had previously been placed in a con- 
venient position. Within two and one-half hours from the 
driving of the first nail, the field was completely enclosed and 
the last piece of capping in place. Thanks to the insistence 
of Mr. Haggerty, the energy and helpful interest of Doctor 
Kolbe, the generosity of Mr. Seiberling, Mr. Noah and Mr. 
Mason, and the loyal Buchtel spirit of the student body. 
Buchtel could again play her games on her own field. 

In the inter-class track-meet of the spring of 1914, George 
Bruner won the Frank Fisher cup for the third consecutive 
time and it became his permanent property. Mr. Fisher re- 
placed this cup with another several years later. The Uni- 
versity now has cups for all forms of intra-mural competition. 
Some have been presented by friends; some have been pur- 
chased by the athletic association. They have proven a great 
aid in extending interest in physical training to ever broader 
circles of the student body. By means of inter-class and inter- 
organization games in football, basketball, baseball, and track, 
practically every man who is physically able is brought into 
competition. 



ATHLETICS 261 

It was while Mr. Haggerty was coach that steps were taken 
to secure admission to the Ohio Athletic Conference. In the 
spring of 1914 Professor Bulger attended the meeting of the 
Conference at Columbus and announced the intention of 
Akron to make application for membership the following fall. 
In the fall formal application was made by Dean Ayer, and 
one year later — on Friday, October 8, 1915 — after having 
served her year of probation — Akron was formally admitted 
to the Conference. She has won the respect of the schools of 
the state both because of the ability of the teams and because 
of the high standard of clean sportsmanship evident in all her 
acts. The desire of Coach Sefton to aid the Conference rep- 
resentative in every way has helped greatly in winning this 
reputation for athletic integrity. 

The remarkable success of Mr. Haggerty's first season had 
aroused such high expectations as later to react against him 
and be partly responsible for his lack of popularity. The 
public expected him to go on eternally duplicating this record 
in every sport. This was impossible with the material avail- 
able in later years. Having aroused expectations impossible 
to satisfy, Mr. Haggerty became the victim of the discontent 
of the student body, the alumni, and the public, in spite of his 
admitted ability as a coach. He resigned in the spring of 1915 
to become a salesman for a firm manufacturing athletic goods, 
a position in which he has been very successful. 

Mr. Haggerty made a remarkable record while at Buchtel. 
He did really great work. During his stay, the football team 
played thirty-four games, of which twenty-three were won and 
eleven lost, and scored five hundred points to a total of one 
hundred and sixty-four for all opponents. The baseball team 
won twenty of twenty-five conference games played; the team 
of 1914 won every game played. In addition, the average 
grade of the team in their studies was far above that of any 



262 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

other group of students. The basketball team won twenty-five 
and lost fourteen games. 

In a letter Mr. Haggerty says: 

"The work done by the boys will never be equalled. Those 
fellows won fourteen straight conference games, went four games 
in 1911 without having a change made in the lineup, and had 
only five points made on them by a team that had defeated State 
9 to 0. Sidnell pitched and won two games of baseball against 
Wooster in as many days. Denison never beat us; Wooster took 
only two of the twelve contests; Ohio State had one victory out 
of three starts; Case was satisfied to win rarely. But why write 
on? Fifty-two upperclassmen did it.'i 

"Jackson, Wilhoyt, Ihomas, Ross, Crisp, and Sidnell were 
Buchtel's best during my time. Since leaving Akron I have 
refereed five hundred athletic contests in ten states; coached a 
national winner in football and a team tied for the professional 
championship in the same sport. Yet I have yet to see a better 
football player than Jackson, a better pitcher than Sidnell, a 
better all-around athlete than Wilhoyt, or a more conscientious 
worker than Zimmerman." 

Buchtel is greatly indebted to Mr. Haggerty. Every 
minute he was at Buchtel he had the best interests of the 
school at heart. He left it much stronger in an athletic way 
than he found it. When he came, the gymnasium equipment 
had vanished, the lockers were worn out, the field was without 
a fence. It was necessary to play our games at the East End 
Grounds, a highly unsatisfactory state of things, because of 
the long distance of the grounds from the gymnasium. When 
Mr. Haggerty left, the gymnasium had been repaired, there 
was a stock of equipment for players in every sport, the field 
had been fenced. He was loyally helped in securing these 
things by the College and members of the Alumni Associa- 
tion, but the original initiative in every case came from 
Haggerty. 

Mr. Haggerty's successor was Fred Sefton. Mr. Sefton 
had played upon the teams of Colgate, where he was assistant 
to Bankhart in the year 1914-5. When he came to Akron as 
director of athletics in the fall of 1915 he faced a dreary 



ATHLETICS 263 

prospect. Palmer, Weeks, Johnson, and Sm'th, veterans who 
had been depended upon to help out the football team, dd 
not return to school. In addition to the letter men — Sours, 
Yackee, Driesbach, Crisp, and Stansfield — but nine candidates 
reported for practise. These few men, mostly inexperienced, 
faced a hard schedule, beginning with Case. Every game of 
the season was lost except the final game with Kenyon. The 
poor showing was due to the lack of material and the necessity 
of learning a new system of play. 

Although discouraged, Sefton worked hard and won the 
affection and respect of students and graduates. This feeling 
of good will has grown stronger during the years he has been 
with us. Sefton's first football season showed the quality 
which has been characteristic of him and his department — 
steady, irresistible improvement and progress. Each year 
shows an advance over the year before; something has been 
bettered in the operation of the department. The wholesome- 
ness of his influence on the student body was shown when he 
received an offer to go elsewhere. At a meeting of letter men 
called to discuss ways and means of keeping him in Akron, 
speaker after speaker emphasized that Sefton must be retained, 
not because he was a successful coach of teams, but because 
he was an invaluable influence for good in the student body. 
His standing depends not upon the shifting sands of teams 
capable of defeating other schools, but upon the solid rock 
of a character and a personality which are a distinct asset to 
the University. 

In 1916 the basketball team won half the games played, and 
a good showing was made in baseball. Inter-class and inter- 
organization basketball was introduced; this has proven a 
valuable aid in arousing interest in and developing material 
for the varsity. Contests with other schools in track and cross- 
country running were also arranged. 



264 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

The football team of 1916 won two of the games played, 
Driesbstch winning a place at tackle on the all-state team, and 
Stansfield receiving honorable mention. Nine games were won 
and one lost in basketball during the season of 1917. The 
team seemed to have a good chance to win the championship 
of the state. All depended upon the final game of the season 
against Case. Several days before the game Tomkinson, star 
forward, slipped upon the icy pavement and injured himself 
so seriously that he could not take part in the game. As a 
result the weakened team was defeated. Tomkinson was 
placed at forward on the all-state team. 

In order to assure capable student-managers, a rule was 
passed this same year requiring each candidate to have credit 
upon the college records for sixty hours of class work and to 
serve a year as assistant in the sport to the managership of 
which he aspired. The number of hours has since been re- 
duced somewhat. This rule has been very effective in helping 
to secure responsible students as team managers. 

The baseball team of 191 7 gave signs of being a capable 
organization, but it was broken up by our entry into the World 
War. Increased interest was shown in track, and Tomkinson 
took second in the javelin in the Big Six meet. Four days 
after the declaration of the existence of a state of war the 
faculty voted to require compulsory drill of all male students. 
The battalion was placed under the command of Professor 
Bennett, who had had much experience with the National 
Guard. When he resigned his position with the University, 
Sefton was put in command. He had charge of this work 
until the introduction of the S. A. T. C. in the fall of 1918. 
Four of our men who went to summer camp in 1918 were given 
commissions. 

Sefton's spirit and hard work began to show increased re- 
sults in the fall of 1917, the team winning five of the eight 
games played, and both Tomkinson and Rogers getting places 



ATHLETICS 265 

on the all-state team. The basketball team of 1 91 8, built 
around two veterans, lost the state championship by the narrow 
margin of one basket. We were defeated by the championship 
Case team. Tomkinson was placed on the all-state team, and 
Whalen and Boedicker received honorable mention. 

The football team of 1918 was a team representing the 
S. A. T. C. unit. Freshmen were allowed to play. The 
influenza quarantine prevented the playing of many games. 
The big game of the season was against the second team from 
Camp Sherman. Aided by Sefton and assistant-coach Dries- 
bach, we won 27 to 0. The basketball team of 1919 played 
fourteen games without being defeated. Art Knowlton was 
captain and center; Swigart and Wentz, forwards; Whalen 
and Haley, guards. These men composed the "Wonder 
Team," as it was called by the papers. Wentz and Whalen 
were placed on the all-state team, Wentz making the highest 
number of points scored by any player in the Ohio Confer- 
ence. Interest in track continued to increase. The Summit 
County high school meet was held on our field, the athletic 
association buying medals for the winners of the events. 

The football team of 1919 lost to Wooster and tied with 
Case. Haley and Bierce were placed on the all-state team, 
Wentz and W. Pfahl receiving honorable mention. The 
basketball team of 1920 won our second state championship 
in two years. Wentz was named at forward on the all-state 
team for the second time, and Boedicker and A. Knowlton 
received honorable mention. Little was done in track and 
baseball, due to construction work on Buchtel Field. Land to 
the intmediate south of the field was purchased, and the track 
changed; later a concrete stand, seating a thousand people 
and containing lockers and showers for the players, was 
erected — the first unit of a stand which will extend along the 
entire north side of the field. During this year Snyder and 
Rowley, and Hilbish and Kittelberger kept alive the interest 



266 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

in tennis. They played on the courts of the University Club. 
Probably the greatest need at present is a new gymnasium, 
for the University has grown to such proportions that Crouse 
Gymnasium is very inadequate. The demand for a gymnasium 
adequate for present and future needs, which has been growing 
stronger each year, will soon be so insistent that results must 
follow. The University of Akron is still in its infancy. It is 
probable that few people have any adequate vision of its 
possibilities. But whatever the future may bring, the depart- 
ment of physical education will be certain to keep pace with 
its progress. 



ATHLETICS 267 



OLD BUCHTEL 

(From the 1908 annual. The Buchtel) 
Author unknown 

The years are more than half a score, 
Since, all athirst for knowledge. 
We took deep draughts of classic lore 
In dear old Buchtel College. 
Tho' lime's advancing step of stealth 
Full many a change may bring. 
We'll still be true to Gold and Blue, 
And still her songs will sing. 

Our football field and diamond green. 

In basketball as well. 

Our colors were in triumph seen. 

Victorious our yell. 

And may the glory never fade 

That round our Buchtel shines. 

The celestial hue of Gold and Blue, 

Which every heart enshrines. 

Oh, comrades, when you hear her song. 

The chorus sweet and clear. 

And sung by voices rich and strong. 

How can you choose but cheer? 

Here's honor to old Buchtel's name; 

Here's honor to each son; 

Here's memory true to Gold and Blue; 

Here's to each victory won! 



CHAPTER XIV 
STUDENT LITERARY ACTIVITIES 

THINGS literary have always received their share of 
emphasis at Buchtel. From the beginning the value 
of both the spoken and the written word has been 
recognized, and students have been encouraged to take an 
interest in literary activities. Throughout much of her history 
rhetorical exercises have been compulsory, students being re- 
quired to do a specified amount of written work and to present 
it in public. At times this public presentation of the student's 
work might be made only at the chapel rhetoricals; at other 
times it has been optional with the student either to appear in 
the chapel rhetoricals or to give his productions before some 
literary society. With the passing of the literary societies the 
interest shifted to debate, the students feeling that while the 
required rhetoricals — essays, orations, and declamations — gave 
opportunity for practice in writing and formal speech, they did 
not furnish the necessary opportunity for practice in extem- 
poraneous speaking. For years interest in oratory was keen, 
and the annual oratorical contest was a significant affair. In 
the earlier years interest in literary work was fostered by 
means of inter-society and inter-class contests, frequently for 
prizes. Since 1 887 the Ashton Prize Speaking Contests have 
been among the important annual events for the three upper 
classes, and have been a strong factor in maintaining interest 
in pleasing and effective expression. Since 1889 the College 
has always had a teacher of Expression on the faculty. 
THE GARY SOCIETY 
The Cary Literary Society, named in honor of Alice and 
Phebe Cary, was formed in September, 1872. For the fol- 
lowing account of this organization we are indebted to the 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 269 

first president of the society, Mrs. Susie Chamberlain Cole: 

"One Saturday morning in September, 1872, some of the 
young men students of Buchtel met in the assembly room to per- 
fect the organization of the *Greeley Society. While they were 
holding close communion, a party of girls stood in the hall, 
wondering why they could not have a society too. They had 
almost decided that they could and would, when President Mc- 
Collester came along and advised them to organize a society at 
once, saying as they started off, 'Now be sure and don't let the 
boys get ahead of you.' The girls hastened at once to the 
reception room and opened a business meeting without delay. 
What did it matter if no constitution and by-laws had yet been 
drafted for this budding society? That could be attended to 
later. The all-important matter was to have a girls* society 
organized before the boys had their organization completed. 

"In pursuance of this plan, officers were elected as follows: 
President, Susie Chamberlain; Vice-President, Ella Morrison; 
Recording Secretary, Ella Carver ; Corresponding Secretary, Cora 
Hyde. 

"As soon as the officers had been elected, the young ladies 
fell zealously to work to frame a constitution. While they were 
busily engaged in this intricate task, a group of painters appeared, 
and the constitutional delegates were forced to seek another hall 
in which to continue their deliberations. At length a suitable 
room was found, not far enough advanced in course of construc- 
tion to require paint. The five officers were assigned places on 
the highest pile of lumber in the room, and the orderly privates, 
also five in number, smiled upon them benignly from a work bench 
just opposite, as they performed their various duties. Owing to 
the loose arrangement of the lumber, the officers were often forced 
to take their seats before they had finished their speeches, but 
notwithstanding all difficulties, then and there was laid the foun- 
dation of the Cary Society. 

"The interest in a literary society of necessity centers in the 
entertainments it gives. The every-day plodding work of such an 
organization must forever remain a history unwritten except in 
the hearts and minds of its members, but its entertainments are 
the mile-stones which in memory they can see and around which 
certain associations gather. 

"The first public appearance of the Cary Society was at a 
'Union Entertainment and Reception' given by the Greeley and 
Cary Societies on the Friday evening preceding the close of the 
first fall term of the College, and as this was the first public 
entertainment given by the college students in Akron, the at- 
tendance was very large. 

*This society was named in honor of Horace Greeley. Evidently its career 
was brief, for we find no reference to it either in the available society programs 
and other printed matter of those days, or in later references to the early '/O's. 



270 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"The first entertainment given by the Gary Society alone was 
on March 24, 1873, to which an admission fee of twenty-five 
cents was charged. The College Chapel was so filled that there 
was scarcely standing room, and the entertainment proved to be 
a great financial success, the net proceeds being about $170.00. 
Of this amount $160.00 was used to purchase a carpet for Cary 
Hall. A large part of this financial success was undoubtedly 
due to the activity of John R. Buchtel in advertising the enter- 
tainment and selling tickets. 

"On the evening of May 5, 1873, the dedication of Cary 
Hall took place. It was an occasion long to be remembered. 
Floral offerings from Mr. and Mrs. Wills, a marble-top stand 
from Oliver Baker, a calendar clock from O. H. Rem ngton, a 
mahogany bookcase from Mr. Buchtel, a mahogany table from 
Mrs. Buchtel, and a beautiful upholstered chair from Mr. Lim- 
bert, were gifts displayed that evening. The dedicatory hymn 
was written by President McCollester. Previous to this time 
the meetings of the Cary Society had been held in the reception 
room. 

"Another entertainment was given by the Cary Society on 
November 7, 1873, without assistance except from Marble's 
Band and Professor Sigel. The sum of $100.00 was cleared 
and given to The Women's Centenary Association to aid in 
establishing a woman's professorship in Buchtel College. 

"One of the most successful entertainments in point of merit 
ever given by the Cary Society was that of November 20, 1874, 
which consisted of a short literary program; a drama, entitled 
'The Last Loaf; and a farce, 'The Greatest Plague in Life.' 
The Daily Argus, commenting on this entertainment, says: 'The 
Cary Society of Buchtel College did itself great credit last n'ght 
in the presentation of one of the finest literary entertainments ever 
enjoyed by this community. We have never seen a foreign 
troupe of performers in this city produce more genuine pleasure 
or elicit more general applause than was made apparent last 
night' 

"At the close of the entertainment several prominent citizens 
requested its repetition. This was agreed to, and the entertain- 
ment was given again at Sumner's Opera House. A committee 
of citizens was appointed to present a plan for the best disburse- 
ment of the net proceeds of about $125.00. The report of this 
committee, which provided for a society of female members of 
all church organizat'ons who were willing to engage in a work 
for charity, and specified that funds received should be expended 
for the most part for the benefit of the poor people whom the 
churches did not reach, was adopted. The name chosen for this 
organization was The Dorcas Society. It may not be generally 
known that this society, which has been so prolific in good works, 
had its origin in that Cary entertainment. As auxiliaries of The 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 271 

Dorcas Society, there have been industrial and night schools at 
which the httle ones were helped morally, mentally, and physically. 
Never did a Ike amount of mon:y reap greater gains than that 
which formed the nucleus of so grand a work, and the Carys turn 
toward it in fond remembrance, realizing that it is more blessed 
to give than to receive." 

Membership in Cary was at first confined to women students 
of the college department, but later some preparatory students 
were admitted. The Buchiel — the college annual for 1882 
— names twenty-six active members that year, ten of whom 
were preparatory girls. 

As the society grew in numbers, it was separated into two 
groups — the Alice division and the Phebe division. From 
The Buchtel Record for January, 1883, we learn that during 
that year the Alice division met at 2 o'clock in the afternoon 
to accommodate a number of students who could not attend 
in the evening. 

In September, 1883, the Alice division joined with the 
Bryant Society to form the Buchtel Union Literary Society, 
a new literary organization to include college students only. 
The Phebe division did not enter the merger, but dropped its 
distinctive title, and thereafter was known as the Cary. The 
last reference we find to the Cary Society is in The Buchtel 
for 1887, in which it is listed as "a preparatory society for 
young ladies." 

THE BRYANT SOCIETY 

The year after the founding of the Cary Society the Bryant 
Literary Society was organized. Its constitution restricted 
membership to college men, but later, as in the case of Cary, 
some preparatory students were admitted. 

Bryant was named in honor of the eminent journalist and 
poet, William Cullen Bryant. In recognition of the society's 
taking his name, Mr. Bryant presented the organization with 
a fine engraving of himself and also funds for the purchase of 
books for the library; and to the time of his death five years 



272 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

later he took much interest in the work of the society. On the 
occasion of the first — and last — reunion of the society, held 
during Commencement week, 1878, the venerable poet was 
invited to be present and to deliver an address. Because of 
his advanced age — Mr. Bryant died between the writing of 
the letter and the holding of the reunion — Mr. Bryant could 
not accept the offer; but he sent the following letter: 

"New York, April 6. 1878. 
"To Messrs. Irving C. Tomlinson and 
F. N. Carter: 
"Gentlemen: — I am sensible of the honor done me, by the 
Bryant Society of Buchtel College, in the invitation which I 
have just received to deliver an address before them at the 
ensuing College Commencement. I cannot accept it for various 
reasons, one of which is my advanced age; and I can only ac- 
knowledge the expression of their good will with many thanks. 
I am, gentlemen, 

"Truly Yours, 

"W. C. Bryant" 

For the following paragraphs on the work of the Bryant 
Society we are indebted to an article in The Buchtelite for 
December, 1889, by Dayton A. Doyle, '78: 

"Bryant Society had some hard struggles during the early years 
• of its existence. The rhetoricals in college hurt the society. If 
it had not been for these, the society would have had a larger 
membership and accomplished much more good. Its literary work 
showed that too much of the same kind of work was required 
outside of the society. Forced literary work in college is sure 
to discourage society efforts in that line. Having lost much of 
their interest in work of that kind, the boys for a while used the 
society as a battleground for the fraternities. Considerable politi- 
cal genius was developed there about the time of electing officers. 
There was no halfway work. The fraternity having the most 
votes took every office and then magnanimously elected one of 
the rival fraternities to the exalted station of janitor. 

"This rivalry between the fraternities for control of the society 
ultimately worked for the good of the society. More interest 
was taken in it from that time forth. The prevailing faction felt 
it incumbent upon them to keep up the literary work of the 
society. Each fraternity urged its members to join, for each 
new member meant another vote. During 1877 and 1878 the 
society was doing some good work, as some of its public enter- 
tainments showed. 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 273 

"During these years, the society furnished some fine entertain- 
ments for the students and pubhc generally. Among others was 
the famous Moot Court, in which Douglass Glessner, properly 
attired, figured as the injured plaintiff. Doug's fine womanly 
features deceived many that evening. With the assistance of Cary 
Society, the boys gave an exhibition of their dramatic talent oc- 
casionally. 1 he last exhibition of this character was given March 
15, 1878. Part first was entirely literary, and raised the society 
in the estimation of the public considerably. The productions 
were above the average and plainly showed that the society was 
making great progress. Part second was entirely dramatic, and 
that, too, in two senses. It was a farce, entitled 'Yankee Land.' 
It was well played; in fact, too well played for the character of 
the play. It was a shame to put so much talent into so worthless 
a piece. A local paper in its comments on the performance said: 
'Though the play is extremely laughable in parts, its selection was, to say 
the least, an unfortunate one, and while Bryant Society has shown itself 
able to present a programme of literary merit, the public will doubtless be 
gratified if comedies of the stamp of "Yankee Land" are in the future dis- 
pensed with.' " 

Another significant meeting of the Bryant Society was The 
Bryant Court of Quarter Sessions, with Judge E. F. Voris 
presiding. The date we have not been able to determine. 
The grand jury had found an indictment against Frank 
Grandin for the theft of one roasted turkey on the night of 
Thanksgiving. The State was ably represented by Attorneys 
Yates and Smith, and Attorneys Motz and Herrick conducted 
the defense. Some very sensational evidence was introduced. 
The jury under the care of Sheriff Graves was out for about 
ten minutes and returned the following strange and incompre- 
hensible verdict: "We find the defendant not guilty; but do 
find Professor Gifford guilty, since the bones of the defunct 
turkey were found at her door, and further find that Professor 
Jones pay the costs and ten dollars fine." The verdict was 
received with unbounded satisfaction. The Court room was 
so crowded during the progress of the trial that large numbers 
of people were unable to gain admission. Everett and Cary 
Societies both adjourned for the purpose of attending the trial. 

Union meetings of the literary societies were of frequent 
occurrence, and some excellent programs were given by the 



274 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

combined talent of Bryant, Cary, and Everett. That the pro- 
ductions were not always of the highest merit, however, is evi- 
dent from The Buchtel Record for February, 1883, which 
remarks : 

"The exercises were mediocre, and far behind former union 
meetings. When five performers fail to respond it doesn't reflect 
very much credit upon the societies. 'The Buchtel College Hash,' 
the paper, was a disgrace. It consisted of nothing but stale 
jokes and puns, and personal thrusts. We th'nk it well enough 
to have a 'funny corner,' but the paper should contain something 
of solidity." 

In June, 1 882, the societies arranged to hold an inter-society 

contest each year on the Friday preceding Commencement, 

and adopted the following rules to govern the contests: 

The exercises of this contest shall consist of orations, essays, 
and declamations. Subjects for orations shall be chosen by a 
committee of three members of the faculty, one member of this 
committee always to be the Professor of English Literature. 
Those who take part in the contest shall be selected by private 
contests in the several societies, and under no circumstances shall 
a competitor be admitted to the inter-society contest who has not 
so qualified. 

THE EVERETT SOCIETY 

Everett was formed in January, 1881. At first only pre- 
paratory students were admitted, and meetings were held be- 
hind closed doors; but in September of the same year the 
constitution was amended so that any male student might be- 
come a member. By 1883, however, this society had become 
thoroughly disorganized, and on the evening of October 5 of 
that year a new Everett Society was formed, open to male 
students of the preparatory department only. The old Ever- 
ett Society kindly donated their furniture and library to the 
new organization, which promptly passed this resolution : 

"Resolved, That we, the Everett Literary Society, appreciate 

the exceeding kindness of the old Everett in donating to us their 

furn'ture and books, and that we return to them our sincere thanks 

for the same." 

The society prospered. A paper. The Everett Star, was 
published. The first issue of The Buchtelite, April, 1889, 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 275 

says: "Everett has passed her sixth anniversary, and still 
prospers. The debates of late have been very interesting, and 
although the literary part of the programs has been neglected 
to a certain extent, yet some of the productions have been very 
creditable." 

The November issue of the same year remarks: "Everett 
Society, the oldest of Buchtel's literary societies, seems to 
enjoy its usual prosperity this Fall. It has an increased enroll- 
ment and its literary exercises display considerable merit." 

The issue of the same paper for March, 1890, tells of the 
Everett Banquet held in the Upper Chapel, an enthusiastic 
gathering of some seventy or eighty present and former mem- 
bers of the society, when the old chapel was made to ring 
with such toasts as "Everett in By-Gone Days," by "Bob" 
Tucker; "Everett in Oratory," by Ed. Cone, and "Everett's 
Benefits in Every-Day Life," by "Bill" Sawyer. 

Indeed, even during the years when the college literary 
societies — the Bryant and Cary or their successors — were 
showing but a dim and fitful light, or had gone out altogether, 
Everett seems to have been vigorous and flourishing. The 
Buchielite of the later '90's has frequent accounts of the in- 
teresting programs of Everett, which at that time included girls 
as well as boys of the preparatory department. 

THE BUCHTEL UNION LITERARY SOCIETY 

From the history thus far given of the literary societies at 
Buchtel, it will be readily seen that during the first nine years 
of the College — 1872 to 1881 — the two leading societies were 
Cary and Bryant. That other societies sprang up from time 
to t-me, only to pass away after a brief existence, is suggested 
by the fact that the Greeley Society was organized by the 
men at the same t'me that Cary came into being, and by the 
further fact that The Argo — the 1880 annual — mentons, be- 
sides Cary and Bryant, the Union Literary Club, which, how- 



276 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ever, is not listed in the literary societies as given two years 
later in The Buchtel for 1 882. 

Cary and Bryant, as we have seen, were organized orig- 
inally as exclusively college societies, but soon began to admit 
preparatory students. In 1881 Everett was organized for 
preparatory men. 

Thus, by 1882, there were at Buchtel three societies, or 
four, if we follow the custom of that day and consider the 
Alice and Phebe divisions of Cary as distinct groups : Bryant, 
for men of both college and preparatory departments; Alice 
Cary and Phebe Cary, for women of both college and prepara- 
tory departments; and Everett, for men of the preparatory 
department. 

In September, 1883, as the result of a growing feeling that 
a sharper distinction should be drawn between college and 
preparatory students in society work, the Bryant Society and 
the Alice division of the Cary Society united and reorganized 
to form a new society. The Buchtel Union Literary Society, 
including both men and women of the college department. 
It had a charter membership of thirty-seven. It was to be 
exclusively a college society. The Phebe division of Cary 
was thereafter known as the Cary Society. 

The new society started with much enthusiasm, and the 

future seemed most promising. The Buchtel Record for 

November says: 

"The prospects for the new college society are indeed flatter- 
ing. The membership has increased to such an extent as to 
necessitate the dividing of the society into divisions for literary 
work, there being forty-four members. Much interest is taken 
in the literary work. The debates are heated and interesting, 
and show careful study of the questions under discussion." 

That this initial enthusiasm soon began to wane seems evi- 
dent from the rather doleful tone of The Record for March 
of the following year: 

"The prosperity of the Union is apparently at an end. The 
last few meetings of the society have done more to ruin than to 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 277 

improve it. The literary programs have lagged, the debates have 
been carried on in a loose and in several instances ridiculous, 
not to say disgraceful manner; the questions have been either old 
and thread-bare, or simple and trifling; the business of the society 
has been transacted in a listless, indifferent manner, and, in fact, 
the society seems to have fallen into a sort of literary lethargy, 
in striking contrast with the active, wide-awake spirit which char- 
acterized the first term of its existence. 

"If the present condition of the society cannot be radically 
changed and materially improved, it had better be allowed to die 
that calm, serene, and tranquil death which its ancestors have 
died before it, and which seems to stare every organization of 
Buchtel students in the face, after the novelty and excitement 
of the first few sessions have passed away. For as it exists at 
present it is no credit to itself, to its members, or to the college 
department." 

Of the varying fortunes of the Buchtel Union during the 
four or five years of its existence there is no written history. 
The last number of The Buchtel Record appeared in No- 
vember, 1884; the first number of The Buchtelite, in April, 
1889. Between the two the only college publication is the 
annual for 1887, The Buchtel. Here the Buchtel Union is 
mentioned first in the list of literary societies, but its name does 
not appear in The Buchtel for 1889, nor is there mention of it 
in the early numbers of The Buchtelite. Evidently between 
1887 and 1889 the Buchtel Union died the death and went 
the way of its predecessors. 

It seems that at this time — between 1887 and 1889 — the 
entire organized literary work in the college department, as 
expressed in the literary societies, suffered eclipse. The Buch- 
tel for 1887 mentions no less than five societies, three in the 
college and two in the preparatory department : The Buchtel 
Union; The Greeley, "a college society for gentlemen"; The 
H. H., "a literary society for ladies of the college depart- 
ment"; The Gary, "a preparatory society for young ladies"; 
and the Everett, "a preparatory society for young gentlemen." 
By 1889 Everett alone remained. Whatever the reason — 
whether the required rhetoricals in chapel, or the growth of 



278 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

fraternities and other college activities, or a combination of 
the two with other factors added — the fact remains that the 
day of the literary society at Buchel had passed. 
THE CENTURY LITERARY SOCIETY 

It was not long, however, before at least some of the 
students felt that the required rhetoricals were not sufficient. 
This feeling resulted in the forming of the Greeley Debating 
Club in the spring of 1889. In the fall of 1890 the name 
was changed to the Greeley Literary Society. Under its new 
name the organization struggled on for a few weeks, and then 
quietly gave up the ghost. 

During the early '90's there was much discussion, pro and 

con, of the value of college literary societies, both in The 

Buchtelite and among the students. In The Buchtelite for 

February 6, 1894, a student, in answer to a former article 

by another student criticizing the student body for the lack of 

literary societies, takes the ground that the time of the students 

is so taken up with other activities that they do not need such 

organizations. 

"Why don't we have such societies here?" he asks. "Mainly 
because we don't want th:m and can exist very comfortably with- 
out them. There are two or three reasons why we do not want 
th'^m. One is the fratern'ties, which take a great deal of time 
and attention. All the rest of the student's t'me and energy is 
well filled by athlet'cs, oratoricals, and Ashton contests, various 
reading circles, and his own private affairs, so that there really 
is no place for a literary." 

But the advocates of the literary society were not ready to 
give up without one more attempt. The result was The Cen- 
tury Literary Society, organized in the fall of 1894. Its 
history was similar to that of former ventures of the kind. The 
first year was successful: excellent programs were given; the 
interest was keen. The society arranged a free lecture course 
by members of the faculty, which was well attended. One 
of the most interesting and amusing meetings was a mock trial 
lasting through two evenings. The second year there was a 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 279 

noticeable falling away in interest. Several commendable 
meetings were held, especially a Longfellow evening and the 
celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the 
poet Keats, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold 
the enthusiasm of a sufficient number of students to justify con- 
tinuing the work of the society. The interested few persisted 
a little longer, but in 1896 they concluded it was useless to 
keep up the fight, and the last of the literary societies at Buch- 
tel ceased to be. 

DEBATING SOCIETIES 

One of the results of the passing of the literary societies in 
the late '80's was a new interest in debate. The Greeley 
Debating Club was organized in the spring of 1889. The 
president of the Club was Lee F. Lybarger. 

For a time the new Club — which seems to have been con- 
fined to men — was very successful, but it is evident that by 
the fall of the following year history had repeated itself, the 
initial enthusiasm had faded into indifference, and an early 
death seemed imminent. The Duchielite for September 20, 
1690, remarks: "It is to be hoped Greeley is not to be 
allowed to sink into decadence. Last term was somewhat of 
a disappointment to its ardent friends. Little, very little, work 
was done, and it was found necessary to adjourn for the re- 
mainder of the year, the plea of hot weather serving as a con- 
venient excuse." In an attempt to save the organization, the 
name was changed to the Greeley Literary Society, the con- 
stitution was revised, and the work of the society was no 
longer confined to debate. 

The Greeley was the forerunner of several debat'ng clubs 
at various periods in the history of the College. All had but 
a short lease on life. The leading characteristic of the debat- 
ing organizat'ons has been lack of continuty. A club would 
spring up suddenly out of the enthusiasm and the work of 
one or two interested students, last a few months — at most a 



280 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

year or two — and then give up its organization because no- 
body was sufficiently interested in the work to carry it on. 

From 1900 to 1904 there was considerable interest in de- 
bate. A society was organized, and, due largely to the initia- 
tive and enthusiasm of C. C. Carlton, '94, excellent work was 
done by the club members and several debating contests were 
held with teams from other colleges. 

CHAPEL RHETORICALS 

Judging from student comment in the earlier college publi- 
cations, and the remarks of Buchtelites of earlier days when- 
ever in these later years they gather in reminiscent mood, it 
is evident that the required rhetoricals were a somewhat for- 
midable affair. Doctor Mary B. Jewett, '76, who can speak 
of the matter from the point of view of both pupil and in- 
structor, "victim" and seeming "oppressor," says of her own 
undergraduate days: 

"One of the great features of that age was the afternoon set 
apart for public rhetorical exercises. No merciful provision was 
made by which the new student had a chance to overcome his 
first feeling of awkwardness and strangeness before his own class. 
The day itself was in some respects like a great examination day. 
The lower chapel was crowded. In those good old days it was 
not necessary to drum up an audience for rhetorical exercises. 
Both students and the public seem to have had an insatiable hunger 
for college oratory and poetry." 

Doctor Franklin G. Wieland, '90, writes: 

"When I was at Buchtel, the rhetoricals added, if not to 'the 
gaiety of nations,' at least to the joy of existence, the joy being 
always a ghoulish one at the performers' discomfiture. The only 
thing that made that horrible hour of oratory livable every Tues- 
day was that it took the place of something else perhaps more 
deadly. The Spanish Inquisition was a pink tea in comparison. 
I have seen husky football players, at the moment they stepped 
upon the platform to rec'te wearisome platitudes, become physi- 
cally and mentally imbecile and clutch vain nothings from dry and 
stammering throats. However, many budding orators first found 
themselves at these rhetoricals. VirtuousV and vig-^musly we 
applauded all efforts as we sat in chapel under the forbidding gaze 
of Miss Jewett. I know now how she must have hated the work, 
the speeches, and the speakers. Among those who sit with the 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 281 

early Christian martyrs in the next life, a seat of honor should be 
reserved for her. 

**1 learn that eventually rhetoricals died a less violent death than 
their offense warranted. 1 hey became elective, and were chosen 
only by those who needed to make up required hours. I surmise 
that then a favorite trinity for the would-be athlete not inclined 
to study was Rhetoricals, Gymnasium, and Art. The following 
incident must have made the death of rhetoricals less deplored on 
the part of the faculty, in inverse proportion to the joy it gave 
the student body the unholy afternoon it happened. I am a little 
rusty on recitation poetry. He may have been reciting from 
'Mary's Little Lamb,' but I think it was from 'Marco Bozzaris.' 
He had warmed up to his hero quite masterfully, and with one 
hand pointing toward the belfry, where Billy Sav^yer had once 
tied the college cow, was about to declaim, 'And Greece her 
knees in suppliance bent,' when his memory failed him. He got 
as far as "Greece her knees.' He hesitated a brief period, only 
to exclaim again, but possibly less positively, 'and Greece her 
kn'ees.' Finally the uplifted hand dropped to his side, he swal- 
lowed once or twice, and stage-whispered, 'Greece her knees.' 
That is as far as he got. I was atrociously unsophisticated and 
young, but I remember, even yet, that it seemed awfully intimate 
and anatomical to me. He eventually opened up a massage 
parlor. If these feeble words of m.ne should ever meet the 
eyes of my old friend from Ohio, he will know that they are 
written, not in criticism, but only in appreciation. He said some- 
thing that I have remembered thirty years." 

That this was not the only diverting incident in the history 

of rhetoricals is plain from the following paragraphs from 

"Reminiscences" by Dayton A. Doyle, '78, in The Buchieliie 

for December, 1 889 : 

"At one t'me during the early days of the College, the re- 
quirements made on the students for rhetoricals had become rather 
burdensome and some of the boys had openly rebelled. The 
rebels were very properly and promptly suppressed. The wiser 
heads among the stud'nts then got together and devised a much 
more pacific method of correcting their grievances. The order 
had gone forth that on a certain day every man of those specified 
should declaim before the students, faculty, and the public. The 
day came and the boys were all there prepared as per orders. 

"Pres'dent McCollester was there to see that th^y did their 
duty. The first declaimer stepped proudly and firmly forth and 
declaimed: 

'The quality of mercy is not strained; 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 

Upon the place beneath, etc' 



282 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"This performance was so creditable that the heart of the 
President was filled with cheer and his eyes shone with the glory 
of his triumph. By a strange coincidence the second declalmer 
also very creditably rendered Portia's 'Quality of Mercy' and 
the President was equally satisfied, though slightly touched, that 
two men on the same day should be similarly pleased with 
Portia's appeal to Shylock. 

"But strange to relate, the third man also courageously de- 
claimed The Quality of Mercy.' The President was still satis- 
fied, but his cheer gave place to astonishment. NVhen the fourth 
man started out with '1 he quality of mercy is not strained,' the 
President concluded that the quahty of mercy had been 'strained' 
sufficiently for that day. 

"The remainder of the 'strainers' were allowed to reserve their 
energies for some other occasion. The performance was, how- 
ever, repeated several times afterward, the President thinking, 
doubtless, it was better than no declamation." 

An amusing incident occurred during President Church's 
administration, when, for a time, required chapel rhetoricals 
were revived under the direction of Miss Forsythe, teacher of 
Expression in the College. One young man who, as he re- 
marked to his friends, would "rather take a lickin' than get up 
in chapel and try to speak," had attempted Kipling's "Reces- 
sional." When the awful hour arrived and he found himself 
on the platform looking out upon "a sea of faces," his heart 
failed and his knees shook with fear. He made a bold be- 
ginning, however, and succeeded in struggling to the end of 
the first stanza, saying, with considerable feeling, 

"Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. 
Lest we forget — lest we forget!" 

He stopped suddenly. "Lest we forget — lest we forget!" 
he repeated. Another pause. Then, looking at the ceiling, 
in a frantic effort to remember what came next, he cried once 
more, "Lest we forget — lest we forget!" Then, with fright- 
ened face, he glanced at the audience, who by this time were 
ready to burst with laughter, and with a final agonizing, "Lest 
we forget — lest we forget!" he rushed from the platform. 

With the establishment of the department of elocution in 
the College, required rhetoricals were for the most part dis- 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 



283 



continued. The last survivor seems to have been the Junior 
Exhibition, or Junior Ex., the required annual appearance in 
public of the members of the junior class. We give in full the 
story of its demise from The Buchielite of April 25, 1893: 
•THE JUNIOR EX. 



"Was It a Success? 



"From the Students' Point of View 



"It Was a Howling Success 



"The following is the program as furnished: 
Music — College Orchestra 

Oration 'Benedict Arnold* 

Maggie E. Bargar 

Essay 'Heredity' 

Origen S. Dean 

Oration 'I^^eal Equality* 

Harry W. Clark 

£ssay 'The Mistakes of Life 

Amy L. Herriff 

History of the Class of '94 Gertrude Tabei 

Oration 'The Orator and His Mission 

Harland H. HoUenbeck 
Music — College Orchestra 

Oration 'Prohibition vs. the Keeley Cure 

Joseph H. James 

Oration 'Nothing Lost 

Lizzie M. Johnston 

£ssay 'The Modern Newspaper 

Tacy Mathew 

£ssay 'Music and Man 

Arthur Seidman 
Class Poem — Eva E. Dean 

Oration 'Contrast' 

Estelle F. Musson 
Music — College Orchestra 

Oration 'Our Many Selves 

J. Hayward Simpson 

Oration 'North American Indians 

Harry L. Snyder 

£ssay 'Impressions of the Future 

Jennie C. Sorrick 
Address to the Lower Class S. Emerson Findley 



284 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Essay 'William E. Gladstone' 

Ada M. Stutzman 
Music — College Orchestra 

Essay 'Meteorology in America' 

Arthur R. Teeple 

Oration 'Freedom of Thought' 

John L. 1 homas 
Class Prophecy — Carolen E. Bateson 

Essay 'Oliver Goldsmith' 

Mary Z. West 

Oration 'The Vigil of Waterloo' 

Carlos G. Webster 
Music — College Orchestra 

"The original date set by the faculty for the Junior Exhibition 
was March 1 7, but when the day came on which the orations 
were due, not one oration appeared, and after much petitioning 
on the part of the Juniors, the date of delivery was changed to 
April 21. 

"April 21 came and all the Juniors except one appeared on 
the scene, though all had labored hard to contract some mortal 
disease or at least get a bad cold. Mr. Snyder was the on'y 
lucky mortal of the crowd, as his vocal organs were in such 
condition that he was excused from speaking. Mr. Simpson 
was not present, much to the mystification of the professor in 
charge. Mr. Simpson says he was out of town. 

"Promptly at 7 o'clock the Juniors, all dressed in black, with 
bowed heads, marched slowly up the aisle and took their places in 
the front row. 1 he first seven numbers passed off with prompt- 
ness and regularity, but when Miss Lizzie Johnston was speaking 
the audience was seized with uncontrollable coughing. Several 
members of the faculty started on a tour of investigation and 
discovered on the stairs leading to the main floor a considerable 
amount of red pepper burning. The windows were thrown up 
and the excited audience were cooled down by the breezes which 
swept through the room. At this point a so-called 'official pro- 
gram' was passed through the audience. It was well gotten up 
and caused much merriment. At the end of 'Act III' crackers 
were providentially provided by the Junior class. This was a 
decided innovation and elicited much applause; everyone was 
greatly amused and no one more so than the two little 'darkies' 
that wore white gloves. 

"The audience now settled resignedly in their chairs to listen 
to the rtmander of the program, ante pating nothing more than 
the usual college and class yells at the close. But in this they 
were disappointed, for just as Mr. Webster was speaking the last 
sentence of his 'Vigil of Waterloo' the orchestra struck up the 
Dead March and four black-robed figures came upon the stage 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 285 

bearing a casket on which were inscribed the words 'Junior Ex- 
hibition.' The Juniors rose from their places, slowly and sol- 
emnly marched onto the stage and deposited in the casket their 
several productions. Dr. Cone gracefully fell in with their humor 
and gently laid his program in the casket and left the Juniors in 
possession of the stage. They sang a mournful dirge over the 
remains of the beloved (?) Exhibition, after which they were 
borne out on the campus and cremated, while the promiscuous 
class and college yells aroused the sleeping inhabitants many 
blocks distant." 

ELOCUTION, PRIZE SPEAKING CONTESTS, DRAMATICS 
The formal beginning of the department of elocution — since 
known by various names, and now called the department of 
speech — was in 1889, when a course was offered with the 
definite aim of "aiding in oratorical and dramatic work and 
in Ashton Contests." Work in elocution, however, had been 
given with more or less regularity since the fall of 1881. In 
1891 the Ryder Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory was 
established, with L. Alonzo Butterfield as the first incumbent. 
In 1895 this professorship was discontinued, but instruction in 
elocution went on, and has continued uninterruptedly to the 
present day. 

Interest in literary interpretation by means of the spoken 
word has been greatly encouraged by the Ashton Prize Con- 
tests. These contests, begun in 1887, still flourish. They 
were made possible by the gift of Oliver C. Ashton of Bryan, 
Ohio, who gave three thousand dollars, the income from which 
was to go for "excellence in reading and recitation" as shown 
in an annual contest in each of the three upper classes. The 
rewards in each contest are a first prize of forty dollars and 
a second prize of twenty dollars. Until 1 890 it was customary 
to hold all three contests during Commencement Week; at 
present the Senior Contest is held on Founder's Day, January 
1 8, the Sophomore Contest in March, and the Junior Contest 
in June. 

From the first there has been an active interest in dramatics 
at Buchtel. In the earlier years the literary societies frequently 



286 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

presented plays, and if we are to judge from extant programs 
of these earlier performances, and conmients in the college and 
city publications, some of the productions were of unusually 
high merit. In later years the work in dramatics has been 
fostered chiefly by the department of elocution, or speech. 
In the fall of 1915 several alumni, particularly interested in 
dramatic productions, organized an Alunmi Dramatic Club 
which flourished for a year or two. The first play they pro- 
duced was George Bernard Shaw's "How He Lied to Her 
Husband." 

At the present time the Dramatic Study Club is one of the 
regular courses offered every year by the department of 
speech. The work of the course is conducted as regular class 
work, the student receiving definite credit as in any other course. 
One of the features every Commencement Week is the play 
given by the Club on the university campus. These outdoor 
plays have included: 1913, As You Like It; 1914, Much 
Ado About Nothing; 1915, Ingomar; 1916, scenes from sev- 
eral plays of Shakspere; 1917, Pomander Walk; 1918, three 
short plays — The Unreasonable Being, Entr Acte, and My 
Lord in Livery; 1919, Prunella; 1920, The Wooing of 
Lilinau. The Club is striving to do its best in spite of being 
heavily handicapped by lack of auditorium, or stage, save 
that in Crouse Gymnasium. 

MUSIC 

From the opening of Buchtel College to the year 1911 
Music was an integral part of the college curriculum. In the 
Catalogue for the First Academic Year, 1872, one of the four 
professors named is Miss Hattie Louden, Professor of Music. 
The following year Miss Louden's title is changed to Teacher 
in English, her pos't'on as Professor of Music being filled by 
Gustavus Sigel, w'th whom the work of the department seems 
to have begun. Professor Sigel's period of service exceeded 
in length that of any other incumbent, covering eighteen years. 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 287 

1873-8 and 1885-98. Changes in the instructional force 
were frequent; the list includes thirty names, but with the ex- 
ception of Professor Sigel only two of the number — Estelle F. 
Musson and Isabelle Kennedy — remained five years. 

In 1911 the department was discontinued, this being in 
line with the policy then adopted of putting the emphasis upon 
the customary and legitimate work of a liberal arts college, 
and leaving instruction in music, art, and kindred subjects to 
other agencies. Since that date there has been little systematic 
and continuous work in music. For a time Professor Frank 
D. Sturtevant of the English department revived considerable 
interest by organizing and training an orchestra, which did very 
commendable work. There have also been several short- 
lived efforts to organize a male glee club, with but indifferent 
success. The coming year, however — 1921 — it is planned 
again to have a department of music. Mr. Francesco De 
Leone will be in charge. A course in the theory of music, 
two hours a week through the year, will be offered, and all 
students who elect the course must also take part in glee club 
or orchestra. 

THE ORATORICAL ASSOCIATION 

Somewhere in the mid VO's a branch of the Ohio Collegiate 
Oratorical Associat on was organized at Buchtel. At the 
first annual contest in 1877 there were seven contestants; 
Newton D. Chisnell won first place with his oration on "Con- 
tradictions in Nature," and John Risinger, who spoke on 
"Our Republic," took second honors. In 1878 the list of 
contestants included some of the best speakers in the College; 
H. W. Baird and A. A. Stearns took first and second places 
respectively. The following year, two of the six contestants 
— Katherine Kurt and Mollie Laughead — ^were the first 
women students to compete for oratorical honors at Buchtel. 
Neither took a coveted place, however, the winner of first 
place being W. H. Jones, and H. A. Kelley taking second. 



288 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

At this time, and for several years thereafter, honors in the 
state contest were given for essays as well as orations. At the 
1879 contest, Buchtel won her first state honors. Miss Kit 
McEbright's able essay on "William Cullen Bryant" taking 
first prize. In the fourth annual oratorical contest, in 1880, 
the winner of first place was Agnes Kuleman, I. C. Tomlinson 
taking second. 

After 1880 interest in oratory lagged. Buchtel had no 
representative at the state contest again until 1 886. In 1 882 
the local association disbanded. According to The Buchtel 
Record for February 18, 1882, a leading reason for giving 
up the local association was the plan, recently adopted by the 
literary societies, of holding inter-society contests in essays, 
orations, and declamations. It was felt that this new plan 
would secure better results, since all contestants in the inter- 
society contests must be selected by competition in their re- 
spective societies, and all subjects for orations were to be chosen 
by a committee of three faculty members, one being the pro- 
fessor of English literature. 

In 1884 Buchtel requested readmission to the state associa- 
tion, which in the meantime had been reorganized under the 
name. The Ohio Inter-Collegiate Oratorical Association. The 
request was tabled for a year and then granted, and in 1886 
the College was again represented in the state contest. It is 
not our purpose to name here all who represented Buchtel in 
the state contests during the twenty-three years that elapsed 
until the College withdrew from the State Association in 
1909. The list, as nearly complete as it has been possible 
to make it, is given in the Appendix to this History. Buchtel's 
record was a good one. Several times she took third honors; 
twice she took second — Carl F. Henry in 1891, and Lee F. 
Lybarger in 1892. Her crowning glory in oratorical annals 
was the winning of first place by "Bob" Tucker in the state 
contest of 1890. 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 289 

The victory of Mr. Tucker was so significant an event in 
the student life of Buchtel that it would be unpardonable to 
pass over it with a mere mention. Some account of that famous 
contest will fittingly close the present chapter of our History. 

The Buchtelite for December, 1 889, begins its report of the 

local contest as follows: 

"It has come and gone. The long-looked-for annual feast 
is past. 1 he last few weeks the oratorical contest has been the 
one topic of conversation in the corridors of Buchtel, and the 
past week has been pervaded with nothing but oratorical atmo- 
sphere. Orator and declaimer — Senior, Junior, and 'Freshie' 
— have been filling the air with oratorical vapor. Each con- 
testant has been putting forth his most earnest efforts and calling 
on the muse of oratory to espouse his cause." 

There were five contestants — V. R. Andrew, A. J. Row- 
ley, W. B. Baldwin, Robert Tucker, and R. A. Myers. 
Mr. Tucker, a junior, twenty-four years of age, won first. 
He was an easy winner. He was marked first by every judge 
— the first occasion of such an occurrence in the history of the 
local association. Second place went to Mr. Andrew, whose 
subject was "The Motive Power of Tyranny." Mr. Rowley 
won third with his oration on "The Philosophy of Discontent." 

The state contest that year was held at Wittenberg College, 
Springfield. The State Association included nine colleges: 
Oberlin, Ohio State, Ohio Wesleyan, Buchtel, Wooster, 
Denison, Wittenberg, Ohio University, and Marietta. All 
were represented in the contest. Ohio State was confident of 
winning first place. Her orator was a colored man, William 
Howard Clark, whose prowess on the platform seemed to be 
known to all. Up to the time of the beginning of the contest 
he remained the favorite, it being generally conceded he 
would be the winner. The hopes of the Buchtel delegation 
were still further dimmed by the fact that Tucker had the 
ill-luck to draw first position on the program. But Buchtel's 
orator was at his best; never had he appeared to better ad- 
vantage. From the moment he finished speaking there seemed 



290 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

little doubt of his being the winner, and when the decision 

of the judges was announced the general satisfaction of the 

entire audience was apparent. 

The Wooster Voice said of Mr. Tucker's performance: 

"Mr. Robert Tucker, the Buchtel phenomenon, presented the 
first oration, 'Democracy the Dominant Idea.' The gentleman 
is in appearance slender but well proportioned. His features are 
well formed, regular, and almost delicate. Stepping gracefully 
to the footlights, he spent fully a minute in leisurely surveying 
the audience, before he uttered a word. He began in an easy, 
conversational tone, and at the start interested and charmed his 
hearers. His clear, ringing voice, his faultless enunciation, and 
his easy and unconstrained gestures, at once marked h m as the 
coming man. His thought was vigorous, and his diction both 
forcible and elegant." 

When the telegram announcing Buchtel's victory reached 

Akron, the enthusiasm of the students knew no bounds. The 

Buchtelite for February 22, 1890 — a special number issued 

in honor of the great event — says : 

"Whn the news was announced to the expectant crowd on 
the first floor of the East Hall, the whole building rang with 
the college yell and college yelling. The ladies on the west end 
joined in, and then the old bell rang out on the cold night air 
and a bonfire was started. After these 'preliminaries' an im- 
mense crowd of boys set out with horns and drums for John R. 
Buchtel's, F. Schumacher's, and Joy Pendleton's residences where 
the good news was announced. From there they proceeded down- 
town, 'making night hideous,' from whence they returned to the 
college and after firing of guns retired to peaceful repose (?). 

"It was the greatest night in the history of the college." 

No athletic hero ever had a more royal reception than 
awaited "Bob" on his return. Again we quote from The 
Buchtelite: 

"Mr. Tucker had been notified that he would be fittingly re- 
ceived this (Saturday) morning, and when the train from the 
South pulled in with Buchtel's delegation, a crowd of Buchtel 
College students with the 8th Reg'ment band and a carriage 
dravm by four white horses, awaited them, all of which had been 
previously arranged by the committees. A line was immediately 
formed with the carriage preceded by the band. Banners had 
been prepared and were displayed. One represented the State 
of Ohio with the inscrption, 'What we Got'; another portrayed 
the earth and bore the words, 'What we Want.' The proces- 



LITERARY ACTIVITIES 291 

sion marched down Mill to Howard and around by East Market 
to Hon. John R. Bucht.l's residence, where the College yell was 
given and inspiring music rendered in behalf of Mr. Buchtel. 
^rom thence they proceeded to the College, where, in one of the 
large halls, an address of welcome was delivered by the presi- 
dent of the college. Dr. O. Cone. Mr. Tucker responded in 
his usual pleasing manner. Remarks followed by one of the 
delegates who told how *Bob' won the contest and then Mr. 
Lybarger, '92, one of Mr. 1 ucker's nearest friends, made a 
very fitting speech in behalf of Mr. T.'s friends and others. For 
this evening a grand reception in the parlors of the College has 
been arranged to be given, when a most sociable and interesting 
time is anticipated. " 

The inter-state contest was held at Lincoln, Nebraska. It 

was the hope of Mr. Tucker's friends that he would repeat 

in the inter-state his splendid success in the state contest, and 

come back with first honors. This he was not able to do. 

But among the nine contestants he took third place, and any 

disappointment his admirers may have felt was modified by the 

news that he would have taken first had it not been for the 

eccentric marking of one judge who gave him sixth. 



292 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



ROBERT TUCKER 

(The following was composed by some of BuchteVs enthusiasts ex- 
pressly for the Glee Club to sing at the Ladies' reception to Robert 
Tucker, '91 , who, on February 20, 1890, won first place in the State 
Oratorical Contest, with Ohio State second and Wooster third. Re- 
produced from The Buchtelite of March, 1890.) 

Air: Solomon Levi 

There is a boy among us — Robert Tucker is his name — 
He's proved himself an orator, and brought the College fame; 
Now listen while we tell to you the story good and true. 
How he brought to us such honor, and to the gold and blue. 

Chorus 
Hurrah for Robert Tucker! Robert Tucker, "Bob"! 
Three cheers for Robert Tucker, tra la la, etc. 
His name is Robert Tucker, and he's one of the Buchtel boys. 
For him we'll give a zip, boom, ba! Oh, don't you hear the noise? 
He beat the other colleges, and carried off the prize; 
He's an honor to old Buchtel, and we'll laud him to the skies. 

He entered Buchtel's contest, and he stood up firm and bold; 
And in a simple, quiet way, his thoughts to us he told. 
How people would have freedom. By examples far and near 
He proved the right of "Democracy, the Dominant Idea." 

"Democracy, the Dominant Idea," is the oration that stood first; 
The boy of pluck will go in and win, let Fortune do her worst. 
We'll show Ohio, and all the world, that in old Buchtel's name 
We all know how to treat the boys that bring old Buchtel fame. 



CHAPTER XV 
COLLEGE JOURNALISM 

TEN years had elapsed after the opening of Buchtel be- 
fore the need for a college paper was strongly enough 
defined to take form in the issue of The Buchtel Rec- 
ord, the first student journal in the history of the institution. 
Its foundation was due to the efforts of Alonzo E. Hyre, *84, 
who, during his sophomore year, became editor-in-chief of the 
new publication. In a letter published subsequently in The 
Buchtelite of 1889 the founder of The Buchtel Record at- 
tributes the original suggestion of a college paper to Colonel 
Carson Lake, a journalist of New York City, and a former 
student at Buchtel. Concerning his venture Mr. Hyre says: 

"Previous to the first issue of The Buchtel Record, January 
18, 1882, the student body, alumni, and friends of the College 
obtained their news of college activities through the daily and 
weekly press as well as the denominational papers of the Univer- 
salist Church. The humor of college life, as well as the literary 
'gems* which are sometimes sprinkled along the highway of the 
sophomore, found its expression in 'bogus' programs, and in the 
weekly paper read in the literary societies of Cary, Bryant, and 
Everett. Of course, the college annual bubbled over with student 
wit and humor, but it was a long time between laughs. The 
Argo, published by the class of 1880, was the first annual, the 
next being The Buchtel, by the class of 1 882. 

"About this time college monthly publications were becoming 
more numerous in Ohio and the western states, and the writer 
recognized the time-honored 'long-felt want' at Buchtel. The 
faculty was consulted and consented, but would assume no finan- 
cial risk. A staff was selected, made up of a representative from 
each fraternity and each literary society. Advertising was 
solicited, and Uncle John R. Buchtel was appealed to for help. 
He backed the enterprise for one-half the printer's bill and Paul 
E. Werner became responsible for the typographical output. The 
alumni responded gladly with their dollars and the student body 
gave liberal support. An exchange list wath the leading college 
journals was established and Buchtel College was on the jour- 
nalistic map. 



294 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"This enterprise was privately owned and financially success- 
ful, the writer selling it to E. J. Felt in the spring of 1883. 
Felt continued its publication until it was bought from h m and 
placed in the hands of the student body and the name changed 
to The Buchtelite." 

The first issue of The Buchtel Record appeared as a 
twelve-page magazine, and its historical importance warrants 
a description of its contents. Bound in a white cover and 
bearing on its first page a wood cut of the old college building, 
its typograph'cal excellence was due to the efforts of the print- 
ing shop of Mr. P. E. Werner. In order to eke out the cost 
of production, half of which had been guaranteed by Mr. 
Buchtel, advertisements were solicited from local merchants 
and from various booksellers and manufacturers of school sup- 
plies in other cities. Four pages of such material evidently 
sufficed to solve the financial problem. Among the Akron 
advertisers in this and later issues appear such familiar names 
as Remington, the jeweler; Wise and Haynes, grocers; Her- 
rick and Cannon, chinaware; The Black Bear Hat Store; 
Hoffman and Moss, tailors; Wolf and Church, dry goods, 
etc., etc. 

Of much greater importance than such mere externals was 
the Record itself, whose aims and purposes may be conjectured 
from the following table of contents: 

Founder's Day (Poem) Susie E. Chamberlain 

The Day We Celebrate 

Home Forces MoUie Laughead 

Planetary Points 

Respiration in Singing A. H. Kimball 

Copious Comets 

Literary Societies 

Salutatory The Editor 

The Faculty's Endorsement 

Fraternity Facts 

Local Laconcs 

Musical Matters 

Phunny Phacts 

College Chips 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 295 

The appearance of the first issue of The Buchiel Record 
was coincident with the first celebration of Founder's Day, and 
the leading articles are devoted to the discussion of this ob- 
servance which has since become Buchtel's oldest and most 
revered tradition. It is interesting to note that forty years 
later, on January 18, 1918, Mr. A. E. Hyre, first editor of 
The Buchiel Record, was the chief speaker at the Founder's 
Day celebration, at which appeared the special fortieth anni- 
versary edition of The Buchtelite, successor of The Buchiel 
Record. 

Associated with Mr. Hyre on the staff of the Record were 

the following representatives of college interests of that day: 

Susie Chamberlain Cary Society 

Carrie Hawk Delta Gamma 

Lillie Moore Kappa Kappa Gamma 

J. A. Motz Delta Tau Delta 

Frank O. Payne Phi Delta Theta 

Dean Tivy Bryant Society 

J. G. Koon Everett Society 

Evidently, however, the main burden of publication de- 
volved upon the editor-in-chief, from whose pen we read 
this editorial as a "Salutatory" : 

"With this, its first number. The Buchtel Record makes its 
bow to the public. We do not propose to indulge in any long 
salutatory setting forth the great advantages of a college journal, 
and confessing our own inability in the capacity of editor. This 
abject apologizing is too often the case. We propose to have a 
trial first before we have our friends condemn us, or censure 
ourselves. That the College ought to have a journal has long 
b^en the cry, but until the present time we believe no effort has 
ever been made to estaWish one; be that as it may, you have the 
first number of The Buchtel Record before you, an established 
fact, and it is now for you to lend it your hearty aid and support. 
The object of the publication will be to further the interests of 
our growing in-t'tution; to afford to the students an opportun'ty 
for literary work; to furnish to all friends, alumni, and former 
students, in a condensed yet an interest ng form, all doings of the 
College and all its interests. The Buchtel Record is the students' 
paper and will endravor to fairly represent all. To further this 
end, associate-editors have been chosen from the different fra- 
ternities and literary societies, who will each month furnish notes 



2% FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

from their several departments. Our heartfelt thanks are due the 
Faculty for their cordial co-operation in the enterprise; and again, 
as in all other enterprises, our thanks are due to our 'Founder,' 
Hon. John R. Buchtel, for liberal financial support. Although 
The Buchtel Record now rests upon a very fair financial basis, 
contributions will be accepted with thanks. Remember this is our 
first year and if we safely stem the tide for this one year, there is 
no doubt but that the journal will have a permanent existence. 

"The pubHcation day of the paper will be about the 1 5 th of 
each month, and all matter intended for publication should be in 
the hands of the editor by the 5th of each month. Ten copies 
will comprise a year's subscription. 

"With an earnest appeal for the generous patronage of all 
friends of the College, we bid our readers au revoir for the 
month." 

The "Faculty's Endorsement," which follows, while evi- 
dently not entirely without mental reservation, shows at least 
a willingness to co-operate: 

"To Whom It May Concern: 

"The ladies and gentlemen, who are named as editorial con- 
tributors for The Buchtel Record, are students in good standing 
in their respective classes, and together with Miss Susie Chamber- 
lain, a graduate, represent fairly the literary work of Buchtel 
College. We cordially commend them and their enterprise to 
the friends of the institution. 

"(Signed) O. Cone 

Elias Fraunfelter 
Carl F. Kolbe 
Maria Parsons 
A. B. Tinker" 

In spite of this amicable beginning, misunderstandings and 

differences of opinion seem to have arisen. In the issue for 

June, 1883, when the Record was turned over to its new 

editor, E. J. Felt, '87, the retiring management complains 

editorially, in the bitterest of terms, of a "muzzled press" and 

of tyrannical repression on the part of the faculty. Under 

the management of Mr. Felt, these difficulties of free speech 

and criticisms do not seem to have diminished, and finally, 

in December, 1884, the paper* was "sold to the faculty," 

as Mr. Felt expresses it in a letter written several years later 

•The last issue of The Buchlel Record on file in Bierce Library is that for 
November, 1884. 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 297 

and published in the first issue of The Buchtelite. From this 
time until the spring of 1889, Buchtel College was without 
a student journal. 

A new student generation was responsible for the founding 
of The Buchtelite. Doubtless W. B. Baldwin, '91, its busi- 
ness manager, and Ed. F. Cone, '89, its editor-in-chief, deserve 
the real credit. In April, 1889, The Buchtelite made its bow 
to the academic public, and in an editorial (from which the 
following quotations are taken), outlined its policy: 

"TTie needs of Buchtel College for a college journal have at 
last been met, and we take pleasure in presenting to its students 
and friends the first number of The Buchtelite. For several years 
past there has seemed to be something lacking in the life of our 
College. Frequent demands have been made and wishes ex- 
pressed for a paper. The unfortunate termination some six years 
ago of The Buchtel Record and the disagreements attendant 
thereon seemed to have paralyzed the journalistic spirit of the 
College. Several attempts were made to renew the publication 
of a journal, but all were unsuccessful. Apparently it was 
necessary that a new generation of students should appear, who 
should feel the need of such a paper more intensely and proceed 
with new life to establish one. Such, we think, has been the 
case. The gradual increase in the attendance within the last 
four years; the munificent donations and extended improvements 
in buildings, equipments and curriculum; the notable events, both 
literary and social; and the development of a new spirit, have 
daily demanded for their expression something more than the 
common method of conversation. Buchtel's alumni have now 
reached quite a large number, for a young college ; but its students 
and professors have been compelled to await the annual Com- 
mencement to learn of their old friends and classmates. Also 
the alumni have been ignorant of many important facts relating 
to their Alma Mater. Upon the alumni depends to a great extent 
the future of a college. It must have their support and co-opera- 
tion. Such needs and conditions can be met and fulfilled by a 
college journal conducted in the right spirit. Attempting to 
manifest this spirit, it will be our aim to bring The Buchtelite 
into the front rank of college monthlies. 

"Quickened by this new spirit and recognizing these needs, 
several of Buchtel's students have met, consulted, and planned, 
and the result is The Buchtelite, which the editors hope to make 
a welcome guest to all. The success of the movement is due 
principally to Mr. Wm. B. Baldwan, who has shown considerable 
interest in the enterprise, and who has taken upon himself the 



298 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

bus'ness management for the first year. His former success in 
this h'ne augurs well for this department of the paper. For the 
enlightenm nt of those interested, we give a short account of the 
orig n and management of the journal. A statement of condi- 
tions for the estabhshment of a college paper was submitted to 
the faculty for their consideration. The principal feature of these 
was the request that the College donate an office for the paper 
and also aid the same by contributing an advertisement. This 
the College has done, and has neatly repaired a commodious room 
on the first floor of East Hall for our use, for which the students 
wish to express their sincere thanks. The Faculty reserved the 
confirmation of the editor-in-chief. These preliminary conditions 
having been arranged, the Faculty adopted the plans as proposed, 
the substance of which is as follows: 1 he journal is published 
by the fraternities and the non-fraternity students of the College, 
each elect'ng one editor, to hold office for one year. These 
constitute the Board of Editors, who elect from their own number 
the editor-in-chief. Codes of rules govern the relations between 
the editors and the business manager. To students of colleges 
where fraternity spirit runs high, this plan may seem strange, and 
v ry likely we shall hear doubts expressed as to our future success. 
In many institutions relations between fraternity and non-fratern'ty 
students are not of the most pleasant nature to be desired; har- 
mony does not reign. And harmony, all college editors will 
testify, is a great help to a paper. But at Buchtel, we can say, 
good feeling prevails, and all relations between fraternity and 
non-fraternity students are of a most friendly nature. By the 
students of Buchtel College who have been here for some years, 
this plan is considered the one which is best adapted to successfully 
and harmoniously meet the needs of the College. Planted upon 
this basis, we hope to make the paper of such a nature that it 
will merit the approval and support of all, and especially of our 
alumni." 

The Buchtelite was now firmly established as a monthly 
publicat on. But with the issue of March, 1 890, the original 
board of editors ret'red and were succeeded by a reorganized 
staff under the leadership of W. B. Baldwin, *91, as editor- 
in-chief, and W. W. Howe, '91 , as business manager, and the 
policy of publication twice a month was inaugurated. It is 
worthy of note that in these years the Buchtelite's official year 
ended in April; hence Volume III, under the direct'on of 
James E. Cole, '92, as editor, and J. H. Simpson, '94, as 
manager, was inaugurated with the issue for April 20, 1891. 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 



299 



In the following year The Buchtelite became a weekly, and 
remained so until 1898, when it again became a bi-weekly. 
The shape was changed from the old magazine form to small 
newspaper size, and the pages were reduced to four in number. 
The following students served in the direction of the new 
"weekly newspaper": 







Editor 


Business Manager 


1892-93 


J. H. 


Simpson, *94 


B. D. Myers. '93 


1893-94 


H. L. 


Snyder, '94 


F. F. Steigmeyer, '96 
E. W. Martin. '96 
J. H. Simpson. '94 


1894-95 


Marc 


T. Inman, '95 


H. W. Kennedy. '95 



1895-96 
1896-97 

1897-98 



1898-99 
1899-00 
1900-01 
1901-02 
1902-03 
1903-04 

1904-05 
1905-06 
1906-07 
1907-08 

1908-09 
1909-10 

1910-11 

1911-12 
1912-13 
1913-14 

1914-15 
1915-16 
1916-17 
1917-18 
1918-19 



W. A. Putt. '95 
Eben Mumford, '96 
A. C. Johnson. '97 
Elmie Warner, '97 
H. S. Mallory. '00 



G. C. Jackson. '98 
C. O. Rundell. '98 

G. H. Brown. '00 



{Buchtelite changed to a bi-weekly) 



E. M. Robinson. '01 

E. M. Robinson. '01 

F. B. Huddleston. '01 
C. C. Carlton. '04 

C. C. Carlton. '04 
C. C Carlton. '04 



E. M. Robinson. '01 
E. M. Robinson. '01 
M. J. Orin. '01 
L. A. MihiUs. '04 
L. A. Mihills, '04 
M. A. Knight. '06 



(Buchtelite changed to a monthly) 



Lucretia Hemington, '06 
C. F. Connor. '06 
C. L. Bulger. '08 
C L. Diers. ' 1 1 
C. M. Myers. '08 
C C. McNeil. '09 
Walker S. Buel. '11 

R. Ginther, '12 

R. Ginther, '12 
RuthH. Priest, '13 
H. Ellis. '15 
(Buch'elite changed to < 
R. W. Johnson, '16 
K. H Grsmer, ' 1 6 
V. D. Lidyard. '18 
V. D. Lidyard. '18 
Louise Taylor. *19 



M. A. Knight. '06 
F. S. Goehring. '08 
F. S. Goehring. '08 
(F. C. Schnee. '08 
(C. M. Myers. '08 
J. Cruickshank, ' 1 1 
J. McAllister. '12 
F. O. McMillen. '11 
E. Grafton. '1 1 
J. Geer. '12 
K. D. Smith. '13 
K. D. Smith. '13 
E. Caswell. '14 

bi-weekly) 
P. Crawford. '16 
P. Crawford. '16 
A. Fish. '18 
J. C Osborn, '19 
Nora Wilson, '21 



300 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

{Buchtelite changed to a weekly) 

Editor Business Manager 

1919-20 (R. Christy. '20 Herman Werner. '20 

|A. J. Brewster. '22 

It is interesting to record the fact that several Buchtelite 
editors, in later years, became newspaper men by profession, 
and a few have gained more than purely local prominence. 
E. F. Cone, '89, is assistant-editor of The Iron Age, New 
York, a trade publication. W. B. Baldwin, '91, is editor 
of the Medina (Ohio) Gazette. A. C. Johnson, '97, is man- 
aging editor of The Columbus Despatch. Mrs. H. S. Mallory 
(Elmie Warner, '97) was for a number of years in newspaper 
work, and Doctor H. S. Mallory is the author of several 
books. Walker S. Buel, '11, is Washington correspondent of 
The Cleveland Plain Dealer. K. H. Grismer, '16. is engaged 
in industrial publicity work in Akron, as is also V. D. Lid- 
yard, ' 1 8. Several others have been in active newspaper serv- 
ice for longer or shorter periods. In the entire period only four 
women have acted as editor, and only one as business manager. 

During its whole existence The Buchtelite (or Record) has 
been a typical student paper, with all the virtues and defects 
which that term implies. Its literary qualities have varied with 
different managements, as is only natural. The usual tales of 
student happenings — pranks, athletic victories and defeats, 
differences with the faculty, college politics, etc. — are spread 
forth in its columns. All in all, it furnishes an excellent source 
of historical material, and is of surpassing interest to the 
alumnus as a current review of Buchtel life from the student 
viewpoint. The files in Bierce Library are nearly complete 
for the earlier years, but many numbers are missing during the 
period of the College's greatest stress, i. e., immediately be- 
fore and for some years after the great fire of '99. A con- 
tinuous effort is being made to secure from alumni and former 
students complete files of The Buchtelite from 1 898 to 1 904. 

An integral part of Buchtel's college journalism is to be 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 301 

found in the year-books published at irregular intervals by 
various classes. The credit of publishing the first annual of 
Buchtel College, The Argo, belongs to the class of *80. In- 
deed, The Argo is the first Buchtel student publication of any 
sort whatsoever. Its editor-in-chief was Charles B. Wright, 
its business manager I. C. Tomlinson, and its treasurer F. W. 
Koon. The editorial corps included in addition, J. H. Ayde- 
lotte, J. A. Guthrie, V. E. Tomlinson, and H. T. Willson — 
" . . . . the few, the immortal names, that were not born 
to die" — as this same editorial staff modestly informs us at 
the head of the roster on the title-page. And indeed these 
literary pioneers of Buchtel were truly glorious in the novelty 
and magnitude of their undertaking, and in the honor which 
has since become theirs of founding a literary tradition. The 
keynote of The Argo is struck in the dedicatory verses: 

"Publications oft remind us 
We can also publicate. 
And departing, leave behind us 
Proofs of wisdom grand and great. 
Therefore we have launched The Argo; 
'Tis a staunch and gallant ship. 
And we hope you'll Hke the cargo, 
Of our first and trial trip." 

Two years later the class of '82, in its senior year, pub- 
lished The Buchtel, a name which was retained for all the 
college annuals until the class of 191 1 issued its Telhuch and 
thereby established a new designation which has been used 
up to the present time. It is a far cry from the modest annuals 
of the earlier years to the pretentious three-hundred-page vol- 
umes of the present day. Yet the publications of the eighties 
and nineties reflect no less care and effort, and perhaps bear 
the deeper mark of a humanistic and literary training gradually 
growing more and more remote in the scientific tendencies of 
today. A long interval, during which no annual was pub- 
lished, lies between the Buchtels of '94 and '08. Since the 
latter date, volumes have been issued nearly every year, and 



302 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



these supplement well The Buchtelite as a source of Buchtel 
history. An outline of the annuals and their publishers 
follows: 



Name and Year 


Class 






of Publication 


Publishing 


Editor 


Business Manager 


Argo 


1880 


•80 


C. B. Wright 


L C. Tomlinson 


Buchtel 


1882 


'82 


J. A. Motz 
Mollie Laughead 
Carrie Hawk 


M. E. Bourne 
O. C. Herrick 
Carlos de Assumpcao 


Buchtel 


1886 


'87 


F. H. Stuart 


A. W. Maynes 


Buchtel 


1888 


'89 


W. A. Holcomb 


J. R. Keller 


Buchtel 


1892 


'93 


L. R. C. Eberhard J. H. Simpson 


Buchtel 


1893 


'94 


Anonymous 


Anonymous 


Buchtel 


1908 


'08 


L. L. King 


F. S. Goehring 


Telhuch 


1911 


•11 


Lois Babb 


A. E. Hardgrove 


Telhuch 


1912 


'13 


May Rinehart 


J. Emmet 


Telhuch 


1913 


'14 


Nelia Curtice 


J. L. Hunter 


Telhuch 


1914 


'15 


J. Thomas 


A. L. Phelps 


Telhuch 


1915 


'16 


Louise Mign'n 


W. B. Smth 


Telhuch 


1916 


'17 


Dorothy Quinlan 


R. A. Mertz 


Telhuch 


1917 


•18 


Marguerite Place 


C. L. Swinehart 


Telhuch 


1918 


•19 


Louise Taylor 


R. Christy 


Telhuch 


1919 


•20 


Jeannette Williams 


W. Butler 


Telhuch 


1920 


'21 


R. C. Sutton 


A. W. Deans 



Any record of journalistic activity at Buchtel would be in- 
complete without mention of The Alumni Quarterly. After 
the transfer of Buchtel College to the city of Akron, the need 
seemed especially strong for an organ which should represent 
alumni interests and bind the old institution to the new. Ac- 
cordingly, during the summer of 1914 there appeared the first 
number of The Alumni Quarterly, published by the Buchtel 
College Alumni Association. Its purpose was outlined in a 
leading article: 

"The present issue of The Alumni Quarterly marks an epoch 
in the history of the College and of the Alumni Association. 
For the first time in its history, the Association has an independent 
organ of its own, whose purpose is first of all to keep both grad- 
uates and former students in touch with their Alma Mater and 
with each other. 1 he need for such a publication has long been 
felt. For too many years those men and wom n who went forth 
from Old Buchtel have, at graduation, felt that the bonds be- 
tween themselves and the College were definitely broken, or at 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 303 

least loosened to such an extent as to make the relation purely 
a nominal one. 1 he fault has lain partly with the College itself 
and part'y with the Alumni Association. 1 he former has per- 
haps been negligent in encouraging that organization which is 
necessary to sustain alumni loyalty. The Association itself has 
led a haphazard existence, supported by the dues and presence 
of not more than a quarter of the total number of graduates, 
and neglecting almost entirely the large body of non-graduate 
former students, whose loyalty has often surpassed that of the 
alumni thmselves. It is a little known fact that membership in 
the Alumni Association is open to graduates and non-graduates 
alike, the only requirement being the payment of the annual dues 
of one dollar. 

"Organization of the interests of alumni and former students 
is the object of this paper, which will, in the future, appear 
quarterly, with special issues as required. Its publication has 
been made possible by the co-operation of the Directors of the 
University, and for the coming year its interests will be in charge 
of Mrs. H. E. Simmons, '06, as Editor-in-chief, assisted by Dr. 
E. B. Foltz. '96; Mrs. C. C. McNeil. '10; K. D. Smith, '13. 
and the undersigned. 1 he material will consist firstly of news 
of the College — not student news, but rather of those develop- 
ments in policy, changes in faculty, etc., which will be of interest 
to alumni; secondly, of news of the alumni and former students 
themselves. For each of the 41 classes one member will act 
as permanent class secretary. It will be the duty of these secre- 
taries to keep in touch with members of their various classes and 
gather class news for The Alumn' Quarterly. Thus the success 
of the undertak'ng will lie largely with the alumni themselves. 
Everyone must do his full duty. Only by combined effort can 
the Alumni Association be awakened from its long slumber into 
an active body. Especial organizing work should be done by 
class secretaries among the non-graduates of the various classes. 
The College hopes that the coming year may mark much success 
in our combined efforts, and that the Commencement of 1915 wlil 
bring together the largest alumni gathering in our history. 

"(Signed) Parke R. Kolbe. '01." 

Since the date of its first publication. The Alumni Quarterly 
has won a definite place in the life of the College and the 
alumni body. The faithful services of Mrs. H. E. Simmons 
(Agnes Whiton, '06) as editor-in-chief, and of K. D. Smith, 
'13, and H. E. Simmons, '03, as business managers, have 
been mainly responsible for the success of the venture. While 
not a student publication, the Quarterly provides another source 



304 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

of college history which is all the more important since it is 
written from the alumni standpoint. May its tradition become 
as firmly established as have those which have maintained the 
other college publications for the past forty years! 



COLLEGE JOURNALISM 305 



MEMORIES 

Written by Clementine M. Clock, 16 

When all our college days are o'er. 

And student joys we feel no more. 

When we have time to sit and dream. 

The bygone memories happy seem. 

We think of every moment past. 

Until we find ourselves at last 

In memory's flight borne on wings so very light, 

And we're back again at old U. of A. 

First come our aimless Freshman ways. 

And then our studious Sophomore days. 

The Junior year the best one yet. 

And then the Senior with regret. 

Each one can readily recall 

That Gold and Blue had outshone all. 

Tears dim our eyes at the thoughts we've learned to prize; 

Hearts with rapture thrill for our U. of A. 



CHAPTER XVI 
FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 

A HISTORY of Buchtel College would be incomplete 
without a brief history of fraternities in general and of 
those particular fraternities which have lived for a long 
or short period of time on the campus. 

Fraternities are student organizations, secret or otherwise, 
the members united by a common bond of friendship and a 
desire for mutual helpfulness. In the early days of the fra- 
ternities only seniors were admitted to membership, but the 
fraternities grew more and more lenient until now anyone pur- 
suing a course either undergraduate or post-graduate is eli- 
gible. Fraternities are either local or national; some of the 
nat onals have as many as one hundred chapters or branches 
in as many colleges or universities of the United States and 
Canada. Their names are usually composed of two or three 
Greek letters, commonly representing a motto. 

Phi Beta Kappa (now a purely honorary fraternity for 
both men and women), the first American secret society for 
men bearing a Greek letter name, was founded at the College 
of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1 776. 
In December, 1 779, Phi Beta Kappa authorized the establish- 
ment of chapters at Yale and Harvard. It was the only or- 
ganization with more than one chapter and bearing a Greek 
letter name until 1825, when Kappa Alpha was organized. 
Between 1825 and 1850 fourteen men's fraternities were 
founded at northern colleges, among them Phi Delta Theta 
at Miami in 1848. The period from 1850 to the Civil War 
saw the b^rth of six more — four in the North and two in the 
South; Delta Tau Delta at Bethany, 1859, was among this 
number. Six more were established before 1900. In 1920 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 307 

fifty-four national fraternities belonged to the Inter-Fraternity 
Conference. 

The first women's Greek letter fraternity was not founded 
until almost a hundred years later than the first men's, when 
Kappa Alpha Theta came into existence at De Pauw Univer- 
sity in January, 1870, followed in October of the same year 
by Kappa Kappa Gamma at Monmouth, Illinois. Third in 
line was Delta Gamma at Oxford, Mississippi, in 1872. 
Secret societies for women had been formed as early as 1 85 1 , 
but they did not bear Greek names nor did they have a con- 
tinuous existence. The Philomathean Society, established in 
1 852 at Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia, became Phi Mu 
and a national in 1904, but was suspended for a few years 
during the Civil War owing to the closing of the college. Of 
the nine women's societies established prior to 1880 and in 
existence at the time of this writing, only four, I. C. Sorosis, 
Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta 
Gamma, were anything more than local organizat'ons at that 
date, but the establishment of sixty-three chapters during the 
next ten years, sixty during the years between 1 890 and 1 900, 
and over three hundred since 1900, and the organization of 
thirteen other nat onal fraternities, bear witness to the growth 
of the fraternity movement. 

Since 1873, when the first fraternity was established at 
Buchtel, three women's and five men's fraternities have played 
their great or small part in the sorrows and joys, pains and 
pleasures, of the student life. The women's fraternities are 
Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Gamma, and Phi Mu; the 
men's fratern't'es are Delta Tau Delta, Ph' DeUa Theta, 
Lone Star, Zeta Alpha Epsilon, and Lambda Chi Alpha. 
All are actve in the University today except Delta Tau 
Delta and Phi Delta Theta. 



308 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA 

Lambda Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, the oldest 
women's fraternity at Buchtel, began its existence only a few 
years after the founding of the College. In fact, 1870 is a 
red-letter day for both the national organization of Kappa 
Kappa Gamma and Buchtel College. Both are celebrating 
the fiftieth anniversaries of their founding in 1920. 

In 1877, Mr. Gus Guthrie, a Buchtel student, interested 
some Indiana Kappas of De Pauw and Indiana State Uni- 
versity in a small group of Buchtel girls. As a result of their 
exchange of letters, Lambda chapter of K. K. G. was founded 
at Buchtel with Lizzie U. Slade, Harriet E. Pardee, and 
Mary B. Jewett as charter members. At first the girls met 
secretly in the room of one of the members. Soon its existence 
became known, new members were initiated, and the meetings 
were held in Room 54 of Buchtel Hall. At that time, the 
Cary Literary Society held its meetings in a large room 
called Cary Hall on the fourth floor of the college building. 
About 1883, the Kappas began holding their meetings in 
Cary Hall, and continued to call that their home until the 
fire in 1899. 

Lambda girls can recall many happy hours spent in Cary 
Hall. Here they enjoyed many spreads, initiations, and 
dances. When they had a study hour, they went there to 
prepare lessons. They took pleasure in decorating and fur- 
nishing it. One great disaster occurred here, which the girls 
in the chapter of 1890 will never forget. On one of the 
social evenings the girls wore high hats trimmed with cotton. 
One of these caught fire from a gas jet, and soon five of the 
girls were in flames. May Steves and Lula Steigmeyer died 
that night, and Addie Buchtel, Eva Dean, Diantha Haynes, 
Arolia Wyrick, Mertie Barker, and Mary Baker suffered a 
long time as a result of their burns. 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 309 

When the main college building burned in December, 1 899, 
Lambda was without a home and without furnishings for one 
except for a few articles saved from the fire, and for several 
years wandered from place to place. For a year the girls 
met at the home of Mrs. S. W. Parshall, a charter member 
The next year, they met with another charter member, Mrs. 
E. F. Voris. Later they found a chapter room with Mrs. 
Miller on Carroll Street. When Curtis Cottage was built, the 
Kappas were given two rooms in Curtis Cottage in return for 
their assistance in raising money for the building. 

Lambda girls have always taken an active part in college 
activities. Scarcely an Ashton Prize Speaking contest has 
taken place in which a Kappa has not taken part, often vic- 
toriously. In scholarship, the Kappas have stood high. Many 
of them have won the Alumni Scholarship prize. The chapter 
as a whole has often headed the list in scholarship. In the 
social life the girls have been prominent not only in the 
chapter's social affairs but in college affairs. 

Every chapter of a fraternity is pleased and honored to 
have a representative on the Grand Council, or national gov- 
erning body of its organization. Lambda has been especially 
favored in this respect. From 1 884 to 1 886 Belle Slade was 
Grand Marshal. From 1886 to 1888 Mary Krenzke was 
Grand Secretary. Not until 1900 did Lambda have another 
member on the Grand Council, when Elmie Warner was 
elected Grand Registrar. She served in this capacity two 
terms, and as Grand President from 1904 to 1906. Eliza- 
beth Voris was Grand Treasurer from 1906 to 1908, and 
editor of The Key, the fraternity magazine, from 1905 to 
1907. With the exception of two years when she was busi- 
ness manager of The Key, Lydia Voris Kolbe has been on 
the Grand Council uninterruptedly since 1908. Three times 
she was Grand Treasurer, and in 1916 and again in 1918 
she was elected Grand President. Lambda is proud of her 



310 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

members who have carried their enthusiasm into the highest 
offices the fraternity can offer. 

In 1886 Lambda Chapter entertained the National Con- 
vention of K. K. G. in Akron. The Kappa alumnae, the 
other fraternities, and the College helped to make this a suc- 
cess. The Phi Delta Thetas gave their rooms in the Arcade 
Building on Howard Street for the meetings. All went well, 
and an enthusiastic convention was held. 

Lambda Chapter has been fortunate in having many of her 
alumnae reside in Akron and vicinity. Although the alumnae 
have never affiliated with the national alumnae association, 
they have had a local organization which has been keenly 
interested in the local chapter. Their meetings have varied 
in number from year to year. Sometimes they have met as 
often as once a month. Always two occasions have been 
largely attended by the alumnae — initiation and the annual 
anniversary banquet in June. 

Through good and bad times Lambda has prospered. By 
this present year, 1920, Buchtel's fiftieth birthday, two hun- 
dred and fifty Kappas have been enrolled on her records. 
Many of them can not be present to celebrate, but all wish 
Old Buchtel, in her new garb as University of Akron, a happy 
and prosperous future. May her loyal supporters in the next 
fifty years increase a hundred fold! 

DELTA GAMMA 

The idea of a Delta Gamma chapter first came to a group 
of Buchtel girls in the fall of 1 878 through Phi Delta Theta 
friends who had met Delta Gammas and Phi Delta Thetas 
from Franklin College, Indiana. As a result of the corre- 
spondence whxh followed, a charter of Delta Gamma was 
granted on March 15, 1879, to Alxe Cook (Mrs. F. G. 
Paul), Mollie I aughead (Mrs. W. H. Jones), Carre Hawk 
(Mrs. Arthur Wolcott), Agnes Kuleman, and Katherine 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 311 

Kurt. Of these charter members the last two have passed 
into Chapter Grand. 

At first a small room in the old college hall was furnished 
for a fraternity room, but the chapter eventually outgrew this 
and moved into more spacious quarters on the fifth floor. 

From the scrapbook of Carrie Hawk Wolcott there are 
glimpses of the college and fraternity life of these early Delta 
Gamma days. Especially interesting are the clippings from 
the Akron Beacon of 1881 which tell of the journey which 
Fannie T. Mulliken, Carrie B. Hawk, and Mollie Laughead 
took to Oxford, Mississippi, to attend the First National Con- 
vention of Delta Gamma, May 25-27, 1881. The trip was 
made possible for these girls through the generosity of Mr. 
J. B. Mulliken of Detroit, who took them South in his private 
car. Only two of Delta Gamma's five chapters attended this 
first convention, as railroad journeys were not so common in 
those days and distances were great. One can imagine the 
thrills these three Buchtel girls enjoyed as they travelled South 
to the luncheons, drives, banquets, and receptions of which the 
scrapbook relates. They have the distinction of having been 
the presiding officers at Delta Gamma's first convention. 

Buchtel Delta Gammas were hostesses at the Second Na- 
t'onal Conventon, which was held in Akron, May 24-26, 
1883, on which occasion Phi Delta Theta very generously 
gave its hall for the meetings. The Convention banquet was 
held at the home of Jessie Tibbals. Again, in 1 893, Eta of 
Delta Gamma entertained the Eighth National Convention, 
at which time the sessions were held in the Universalist Church 
parlors on May 1 1 and 1 2. Buchtel Hotel was the scene of 
th's Conventon banquet. TTie Grand Council of Delta 
Gamma held its annual Council Sess'on in the fraternity rooms 
in Curtis Cottage on May 24-28, 1910. 

At the Convent-on of 1883 it was decided to publish a 
journal to be called The Anchora, to be published in Akron 



312 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

under the auspices of Eta Chapter. It continued to be pub- 
lished here until the third volume in 1 887. Mary E. Thomp- 
son (Mrs. R. H. Stevens) vv^as elected editor-in-chief of the 
first Delta Gamma Anchor ay which made its appearance in 
the Greek world in April, 1884. Mary Sibley (Mrs. C. G. 
Markley) acted as her assistant. In January, 1885, Abby 
C. Soule (Mrs. F. A. Schumacher) became editor and held 
that office until her graduation, when Bessie Kingsbury suc- 
ceeded her. Kittie Walker (Mrs. J. W. Knapp) was busi- 
ness manager for Abby Soule, and Mary Sibley and Minnie 
Wright ( Mrs. J. H. Aydelotte) were assistants during Bessie 
Kingsbury's editorship, which continued until June, 1 887. 

From her beginning it has been Eta's custom to observe 
March 15, the anniversary of the granting of her charter, as 
a Reunion Day. The celebration of this day has been one of 
the unbroken customs and traditions of Delta Gamma. Eta 
Chapter is now the oldest living Chapter of Delta Gamma, 
and is proud of her part in the building and strengthening of 
the national organization of the fraternity. 

When old Buchtel Hall was destroyed by fire. Eta lost 
all her early records and archives with the exception of her 
charter. After the fire a large room on the third floor of a 
private house served as a fraternity home for five years until 
the completion of Curtis Cottage, when Delta Gamma became 
the possessor of the suite of rooms in the east end of the third 
floor. On Founder's Day in January, 1905, Delta Gamma 
kept open house and formally opened her new home. 

The first alumnae association of Akron Delta Gammas was 
formed in 1888. It remained a loosely organized association 
until 1 908, when a charter was granted for an alumnae chapter 
— to be known as Eta Upsilon — which carried with it the 
powers and privileges in convention of an active collegiate 
chapter. 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 313 

Two hundred and nineteen Buchtel and Municipal Uni- 
versity of Akron girls have been initiated into Delta Gamma, 
of which number eighty-three have received degrees. 

The greater number of Delta Gamma alumnae who have 
done professional work have engaged in teaching. Other girls 
have gone into secretarial work, and still others into the field 
of literary work or social service. The medical profession and 
nursing have been the life work of several. A large majority 
of the alumnae are married and are now mothers and 
homemakers. 

PHI MU 

(formerly THETA SIGMA CHl) 

September, 1906, found Buchtel College with a larger en- 
rollment of freshman girls than ever before and with two 
women's fraternities. Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta 
Gamma, which had been established since the beginning of 
time and had naturally grown rather staid and ultra-conser- 
vative. When they had rushed and pledged eight or ten 
girls that fall, a large number were left who found that to 
those outside the pale the College offered practically no social 
life with the exception of the college dances. Quickly a club 
called "The Mob" sprang into life to fill that lack, and for 
a time it proved a great success, nearly all the non-fraternity 
girls in the College becoming members. Gradually, however, 
a few of this number found themselves unusually congenial, 
and appreciating fully the greater advantages offered by fra- 
ternity life, and inspired by members of the men's fraternities, 
especially Lone Star, who felt that there was a splendid field 
for a new fraternity, they developed the local Theta Sigma 
Chi, which was publicly announced to the college world on 
April 16. 1907. 

Theta's pin was a golden padlock, its bow set w*th five 
pearls honoring the five founders — Nellie R. James, '09, and 
Luella Ranney, Lida Botzum, Ethel Wells, and Marjorie 



314 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Means, all of '10 — and bearing a swastika, a plus sign, the 
Greek letter Omega, and the letters Theta Sigma Chi; her 
colors were pale pink and dark green, with the green always 
worn on each side of the pink ; her flower was the Enchantress 
carnation, and her pledge pin was a Maltese cross of black 
enamel with silver letterings. The new society had the full 
support and approval of President Church, who gave it the 
only vacant room on the campus, way up on the third floor 
of the gymnasium. Many a tale that little room could tell 
of the early days, of furniture donated by interested mothers, 
of pledges who scrubbed floors and kalsomined walls, of 
wonderful rarebits and fudge made in the old chafing dish, of 
confidences exchanged and secrets whispered, of familiar 
whistles that came floating in on summer days, of the ivy that 
grew until it almost covered the little windows, and of all 
the thousand and one memories that cling around the old 
"Gym." Our only neighbor in those days was Miss Isa- 
belle Kennedy, head of the music department, who occupied 
the room just below us. She really did not believe in frater- 
nities at all, but she was so jolly and full of interest in us that 
she just couldn't help being one of our very best friends and 
one whom the "old girls" will never forget. 

From the moment that Theta landed like a bomb in the 
placid fraternity camp, kindly received by some groups and 
haughtily ignored by others, the unequal struggle between na- 
tional and local began, but for five long years she held her 
own. Profiting by lessons learned during that first year as non- 
fraternity girls, her founders held constantly before each new 
member the ideals of democracy, of congeniality before num- 
bers, and of college first, fraternity second. Because of these 
teachings the Thetas entered wholeheartedly into every college 
enterprise, and from the very first held their full share of 
offices and honors. A thorough study of fraternity life, his- 
tory, policies, and development was early undertaken, even 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 315 

before the idea of nationalism had taken root. In fact, the 
idea of becoming a chapter of a national fraternity came to 
Theta from one of the nationals which wrote the local with a 
view to establishing a chapter at Buchtel. The Thetas wonder 
now what it was that kept them from eagerly accepting 
that first invitation, but they declined it and one or two others 
which came as the years passed. But at last, in 191 1, Theta 
came in contact with a fraternity whose history stirred hei 
imagination, and the correspondence begun at this time re- 
sulted in a petition to Phi Mu which was granted in the early 
summer of 1912. 

Phi Mu is the second oldest college secret society for 
women, founded at Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia, in 
1852, as the Philomathean Society. From its inception the 
society was based on the Greek letter idea, and the badge of 
today is identical, except in size, with the one worn long 
before the Civil War by the daughters of the Southland. For 
many years Philomathean remained local, gathering about 
it a veritable treasure of story and tradition, but at last, in 
1904, a charter was obtained from the State of Georgia and 
other chapters were established throughout the South. As 
time healed the breach between the North and the South, the 
grandmothers, mothers, and granddaughters who wore the 
Phi Mu shield forgot their bitterness toward the North, and 
in 1912 Omicron at Buchtel became the first chapter north of 
D'xie, a bond between the new South and the new North. 
Since that time Phi Mu's chapters have spread from Maine 
to California, but to the northern and western chapters nothing 
is more precious than their rich heritage from the Old South. 

So it happened that on September 4, 1912, Zenobia 
Wooten, Nat'onal Secretary of the fratern'ty, ass^'sted by 
Janet Mal'ory, Inspector, installed Myrtle Alton, '13, Helen 
Hackett. '13, Ruth Prest, '13, Lo-s Held, '14, Eva Miller. 
'14, and Margaret Wells, '16, as charter members of Omicron 



316 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Chapter of Phi Mu. The alumnae members of Theta were 
also initiated into Phi Mu, and the padlock was replaced by 
the shield. This time the welcome from the other fraternities, 
faculty, and student body was unanimous and cordial, and in 
the years that have passed since then Phi Mu has tried faith- 
fully to deserve that welcome and to fill with credit her place 
in the college life. 

President Kolbe, who has always been a good friend, saw 
at what a disadvantage the chapter was placed by not having 
its home in the dormitory with Kappa and Delta, and at the 
first opportunity gave Phi Mu the privilege of occupying two 
rooms on the third floor of Curtis Cottage, thus devoting the 
whole floor to the three women's fraternities. New furniture, 
rugs, hangings, and a Victrola have made these rooms a 
charming, comfortable chapter home, although they are full 
to overflowing when the alumnae come out in force to spreads. 

No history of this chapter could be complete without men- 
tion of the two women who in their busy lives have paused to 
give of their wide experience and mature judgment to our 
sorority, and whose friendly counsel has won the love and 
gratitude of each Phi Mu — Miss Dorothy W. Work, who 
was initiated as an honorary member back in the early days 
of Theta, and whose loving interest has been unfailing, and 
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Thompson, dean of women at the Univer- 
sity of Akron, who has for years been more patron saint than 
patroness to Phi Mu. 

True to the joint ideals of Theta and Phi Mu, Omicron 
has filled many offices each college year. She gave The Buch- 
ielite its first woman editor, and has had two editors of The 
Telbuch, and a May Queen, besides her full share of Y. W. 
C. A., Woman's League, and class offices. She also has had 
two members on the Nat'onal Council of Phi Mu, Eva Miller 
(Mrs. Leo J. Fitzpatrick, '14), who served most efficiently 
as business manager of The Aglaia from 1915 to her death 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 317 

in January, 1919, and Marjorie Means (Mrs. Cecil C. Mc- 
Neil, '10), who has been National Registrar of the fraternity 
since 1916, and during that time has compiled and published 
a new directory of the fraternity. 

The active chapter has always had the support of a strong 
and interested alumnae association, which was chartered at 
the time of the installation of the chapter and which now 
numbers thirty-five members. The association holds regular 
meetings twice a month and unites with the active chapter at 
Christmas time, on Founder's Day, March 4, and at the an- 
nual Commencement reunion. With the alumnae, war work 
of various kinds was carried on during the whole period of the 
war, actives and almunae joining in knitting one day a week 
during the summer, and many individual members working 
faithfully for the Red Cross. Through the alumnae, too, 
scholarship has been fostered, some recognition of the highest 
scholarship in the chapter having been given for many years. 
In the fall of 1918 the alumnae association presented the 
chapter with a bronze cup, upon which is engraved each year 
the name of the freshman or sophomore attaining the highest 
grade for that year, provided always that a certain standard 
is reached. In the eight years since the founding of the college 
honorary fraternity. Phi Sigma Alpha, six Phi Mus have 
been elected to membership. 

With the passing of the years have come many chauiges: 
Old Buchtel has become the Municipal University of 
Akron, Theta Sigma Chi has become Omicron of Phi Mu; 
but purposes and ideals are unchanging, and still the slogan 
of each Phi Mu is that of the olden days, "College first, 
fraternity second." 

DELTA TAU DELTA 

The Eta chapter of Delta Tau Delta was established at 
Buchtel in 1873, and survived for twenty-two years. It was 
the early policy of the fraternity to have a great number of 



318 FIFTY YEARS OF BUGHTEL 

chapters. On this account chapters were installed in many 
colleges and universities where conditions were such that the 
final policy of the fraternity could not obtain. The Eta 
chapter was a successful one. It was removed only when 
the College seemed no longer to draw men who planned to 
complete their courses at Buchtel. A successful chapter is 
one that graduates a large percentage of its initiates. In no 
other way can it develop a lasting loyalty. It is to the credit 
of the men who were members of the chapter in 1895 that 
they surrendered the charter. It was never withdrawn by 
the general fraternity. 

Many regulations instituted by Delta Tau Delta, which 
were finally for the good of all fraternities, worked a hard- 
ship on a chapter like Eta, trying to hold its own in a small 
church school. The national body legislated against initiating 
preparatory students, against honorary memberships, and 
against "lifting." While no self-respecting fraternity could 
continue these practises, these regulations, visited upon a 
chapter in a school where men were scarce and where other 
fraternity chapters were not so handicapped, were difficult to 
meet. Youngsters scarcely out of knickerbockers were 
pledged, and often initiated. This seems inconceivable in 
these days, when severe legislation controls chapters of all 
fraternities, and when faculty regulations also help to keep 
up the standards of fraternity qualificat ons. 

Many successful men went out from Buchtel who were a 
credit to the fraternity and thus to the College, but no one 
became eminently conspicuous in national affairs. Many small 
colleges boast of presidents and governors and ambassadors. 
Thus far Buchtel awaits its celebrities. But the Delta catalog 
shows too that there are none who failed outright. The 
pen'tent"ar:es yawn, but, as yet, yawn bootlessly. 

To one devoted alumnus of Buchtel came the h'ghest honor 
in the gift of his fraternity, that of its national presidency. 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 319 

Doctor Frank Wieland of Chicago was elected to this office 
in 1901, and remained the fraternity executive for six years. 
Cut of respect to him the governing body legislated to keep 
the letter "Eta" sacred to his old chapter. Quite often new 
chapters are given the names of those defunct. 

While unquestionably the policy of restricting the number 
of chapters is a good one, all things must have a beginning. 
The chances are that Delta Tau Delta would not hold its 
enviable place among national fraternities today had it not 
been for its chapters in small church schools. Times have 
changed a great deal, but standards of manhood never can 
change greatly. Small colleges have always stood for loyalty 
and squareness. Fraternity chapters, in small colleges, were 
bound to reflect the tone of their institutions. In restricting 
their activities to large colleges and state institutions, fraterni- 
ies may have lost much. 

PHI DELTA THETA 

Cn September 30, 1874. T. C. Druley, Ohio Alpha, '69, 
wrote to C. T. Jamieson of the National Grand concerning 
the establishment of a chapter at Buchtel College, Akron, 
Ohio. He said that he had been talking about it with his 
friend A. M. Ralston, who was a student in the College, and 
who was "very anxious to assist in organizing a good chapter. * 
In this letter, also in one dated November 10, he strongly 
advised that a chapter be established at Buchtel. Ralston 
wrote to Jamieson November 23 that he and others desired 
to organize a chapter of Phi Delta Theta and asked that 
"the necessary preliminary papers for securing a charter" be 
sent to them. He further said, "There is a good opening for 
a chapter, although the Delta Tau Delta Society is well es- 
tablished." November 24 the National Grand appointed a 
committee to consider the expediency of establish'ng a chapter 
at Buchtel. November 25 Jamieson wrote to Ralston, and 
his letter was answered by A. C. White December 3. 



320 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Jamieson sent to White a pledge of secrecy, and December 7 it 
was signed by G. A. McAlpine, '75, Joseph Hidy, *76, B. J. 
Bogue, 77, J. L. Newberry, 77, A. M. Ralston. 77. C. R. 
Pence, 78, T. J. M. Prior. 78, and A. C. White, 79. 
and was forwarded by White to Jamieson. A report from 
the committee in favor of having a chapter at Buchtel was 
adopted by the National Grand December 8. 

A. M. Ralston. A. C. White, and W. D. Shipman. the 
latter a sophomore at Buchtel, were at Wooster January 19, 
and were then elected to membership and initiated. On the 
same day they were "authorized to establish a chapter of Phi 
Delta Theta at Buchtel College." The National Grand 
granted these three a charter, dated January 19, 1875, con- 
stituting them and their successors Ohio Eta. The three 
charter members returned to Akron January 20, and initiated 
McAlpine, Hidy, Bogue, Newberry, Pence, and Prior Jan- 
uary 30, when the chapter was organized by the election of 
officers. Meetings were held at first in the study room of the 
College, afterward in the rooms of members. In May the 
chapter numbered sixteen members. July 18, 1877, C. B. 
Wright wrote from Buchtel, "Our chapter is in a flourishing 
condition. We occupy a comfortable suite of rooms in the 
heart of the city." Delta Tau Delta was the only fraternity 
at Buchtel before Phi Delta Theta entered. 

Later the name of the chapter at Buchtel was changed to 
Ohio Epsilon and Ohio Eta was assigned to Case, in which 
a new chapter had been formed. 

For a number of years the chapter at Buchtel was in a lively 
and flourishing condition, and it was not until the panic times of 
1 896 that the number of students grew so small that the return 
of the charter was suggested. 

S. E. Findley, Buchtel, '94, instructor in Buchtel College, 
and President of Epsilon Province, wrote to the General 
Council November 11,1 896 that the College was not pros- 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 321 

perous and that the number of students had diminished so that 
fraternity material was very scarce. Several meetings of the 
resident alumni and the active members had been held to dis- 
cuss the matter and a decision had been reached to submit a 
proposition to the General Council that the chapter be sus- 
pended, its charter to be held in trust by the General Council ; 
that if the College should prosper w^ithin five years, the chapter 
should be reorganized, but if not, the charter should be per- 
manently w^ithdrawn. A circular explaining the situation had 
been sent to absent alumni, and only two objections to the 
plan had been received. On November 11 ^ 1896, on recom- 
mendation of the General Council, the Convention adopted 
that section of the report of the committee on chapters and 
charters which recommended that the charter of the Buchtel 
chapter "be surrendered to the General Council, to be held 
in trust by them until the general condition of the college shall, 
in the judgment of the General Council and Province Presi- 
dent, warrant the resumption of active life by the chapter." 
The charter of the Buchtel chapter was then surrendered. 

A letter dated January 1 3, 1898, written by C. O. Rundell. 
Ohio Epsilon, '98, and published in Tho. Palladium, noted 
some improvement in the institution, and said: "The boys 
of Ohio Epsilon, of whom there are five undergraduates in 
college, have associated with themselves the most desirable 
men here, and have formed a local organization known as the 
Zeta Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. At present we have ten active 
members, two pledged men, and four associate members, the 
latter being Ohio Epsilon alumni." The members of the 
society were informed that an application for the renewal 
of Ohio Epsilon's charter would not be favorably received, 
the improvement in the College not being deemed sufficient to 
warrant such action. 



322 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

LONE STAR 

Early in January, 1 882, W. V. N. Yates came to Buchtel 
from Allegheny College and entered the senior class. Being 
a fraternity man, a Phi Gamma Delta, he quickly recognized 
that the conditions then existing at Buchtel favored the intro- 
duction of another fraternity, and to this end he enlisted the 
help of Simeon B. Rice, '83, who was a brother Freemason. 
In a few days six other students were enlisted in the venture: 
E. L. Chesrown. '83. C. N. Church, '85, W. T. Sawyer, 
'87, W. T. Beardsley, '86, J. G. Koon, '85, and Charles A. 
Wilhelm, '87, and on January 1 8, 1 882, the organization of 
the new society was publicly announced. Thus began the 
Lone Star Fraternity. 

The organization was at first simple, but it was gradually 
built up and improved upon until its organism and objects 
corresponded to those of a regular College Greek Letter secret 
society. By 1883 the fraternity was firmly established, and 
from that time continued to show a healthy and vigorous 
growth. Generally the active chapter made its home in a 
rented suite of rooms, but at times when the membership con- 
tained a sufficient number of out-of-town students, an entire 
house was rented. 

In 1895 and for two years following, the conditions at the 
College reached a very low ebb, due to the industrial depres- 
sion then sweeping the entire country. Only one active member 
returned to college in the fall of that year, and during the 
next year, 1896-7, the fraternity was entirely inactive. It 
was during this period that the local chapters of both Delta 
Tau Delta and Phi Delta Theta were withdrawn. 

In the fall of 1897 seven students joined together and 
made application to the alumni of the fraternity for the Lone 
Star charter. These men were G. W. Rockwell, '98, F. J. 
Rockwell, *99, C. S. Benedict, ex-*96, Archie P. Eves, '00, 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 323 

W. E. Hardy. '00. Floyd Metzger. '99, and Harlan Sperry. 
'99. After a thorough investigation by the alumni, these 
applicants were accepted and initiated. On January 29 of 
the following year the fraternity was formally incorporated 
under the laws of the State of Ohio. 

From this time down to the present the fraternity has en- 
joyed an uninterrupted period of growth and prosperity. In 
1913 a long-cherished ambition was realized when the fra- 
ternity took possession of the house at 436 Buchtel Avenue. 
This property was purchased by the alumni, and a few slight 
changes admirably adapted it to fraternity purposes. A dining 
room was maintained for the active chapter, while there were 
four study rooms on the second floor, and on the third floor 
was a dormitory capable of housing ten or twelve men. In 
April, 1 920, a new house, more commodious, more attractive, 
and in every respect more desirable, was purchased at 94 Fir 
Street. This present home of the fraternity contains fourteen 
rooms and a dormitory capable of housing twenty men 
comfortably. 

The Annual Banquet is made the most important event of 
each year, and it is then the alumni gather together to renew 
old friendships and become acquainted with the new members 
of the active chapter. 

A publication called The Constellation is edited semi-an- 
nually by the active chapter, and serves to keep the scattered 
alumni members in touch with each other, as well as with the 
active chapter and incidentally the University itself. 

The fraternity is justly proud of the fact that seventy-six 
of its members enlisted for service in the Great War. Of this 
number, two were wounded in battle, but fortunately none 
were called upon to make the supreme sacrifice. 

The membership, active and alumni, now totals two hun- 
dred and twenty-nine, of whom twenty-four are deceased. 



324 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ZETA ALPHA EPSILON 

Zeta Alpha Epsilon was founded December 27, 1897, by 
the five remaining members of the Ohio Epsilon chapter of 
Phi Delta Theta, the charter of that fraternity having been 
voluntarily returned to the Grand Council in 1896 due to 
a decrease in the number of students at Buchtel College. In 
honor of these men — C. O. Rundell, O. A. Cole, E. H. 
Horton, J. C. Frank, and G. H. Brown — all members of 
both chapters. Founder's Day is observed by the active chapter 
each year and suitable church services are held in remem- 
brance of them. 

Due to the active part which these men played, the new 
fraternity was able to make rapid strides from the first, and 
quickly outgrew the suite of rooms it had rented. The chapter 
moved into their house on Carroll Street soon after, and lived 
there for a number of years. Later a more suitable house 
was secured on Buchtel Avenue, and in 1918 the alumni 
chapter purchased the present house on Spicer Street. The 
services of a house-matron and cook were secured and the 
chapter settled down in their new home. 

The chapter was especially fortunate in escaping the de- 
pression which caused the return of the charters of Delta Tau 
Delta and Phi Delta Theta, and has had a prosperous and 
continuous existence from its inception until the present day. 
The fraternity is incorporated under the laws of the State of 
Ohio and a similar organization. The Zeta Alpha Epsilon 
Company, has also been formed and incorporated by the 
alumni. 

During the war Zeta was called upon for over seventy of 
its members. One of that number, Thomas F. Quale, made 
the supreme sacrifice. Several Zetas were cited for bravery, 
and Willard Swan was decorated by the French government 

The Annual Love Feast is given each year by the alumni to 
the active chapter, and the "old-timers" gather from all over 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 325 

the country on this occasion. In the spring the active* hold 
their Stag Banquet, this time in honor of their alumni. A 
report of the activities of the chapter in pamphlet form is is- 
sued each year at this banquet. 

The Alumni Chapter numbers one hundred and fifty-four, 
of whom sixteen are deceased — in the Chapter Grand. The 
alumni are kept in touch with each other by bulletins from 
the secretary and at the Love Feast a letter is sent to each one 
who has not been able to attend the gathering. 

The fraternity colors are lavender and green; the fraternity 
flower is the violet. The badge is a gold bone surmounted 
by a black crescent with horns depressed bearing the letters 
Z. A. E. in gold. 

LAMBDA CHI ALPHA 
(formerly SIGMA BETA) 

The Akron chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha was originally 
the local fraternity, Sigma Beta. It was the outgrowth of a 
group of men attached to each other by the bonds of mutual 
interests. Common ideals and principles were the binding 
ties; they constituted the spiritual mold in which the spiritual 
thoughts and emotions of the founders took the shape of a 
more permanent organization. 

The Sigma Beta fraternity was established in the fall of 
1914 by ten members of the class of 1916: Arbie Carlton, 
Dwight Thornton, Hubert Squibbs, Robert Azar, Fred Kit- 
telberger, Ira Poules, Norris Gable, Ray Work, Ernest 
Bridgewater, and Baldwin Santom. 

Rapid strides were made in the early days of its existence. 
A modern house was obtained, furnished, and transformed 
into a real home. As a result of arduous work and consistent 
determination, the fraternity soon outgrew its first quarters. 
The house was no longer large enough to afford a home for 
its increasing membership. In the fall of 1915, the fraternity 
moved into a large ten-room house at 277 E. Exchange Street. 



326 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

The next step in the rapid growth of this young organization 
came on March 22, 1919, when the Sigma Beta Fraternity 
was granted a charter as a Zeta of the Lambda Chi Alpha 
Fraternity. 

By hard work and constant determination to forge ahead, 
the fraternity again found itself in need of larger quarters. 
Through the co-operation of the alumni association and the 
active chapter, the present home at 82 Fir Street was pur- 
chased. Situated on one of the most prominent residential 
streets of the city, near the University, and next door to the 
Lone Star house, we find the new home of Gamma Alpha 
Zeta. This house is modern in all respects, splendidly fur- 
nished, and well arranged for fraternity purposes. On the 
first floor are a large reception hall, library, music room, din- 
ing room, lounging room, and kitchen. The second floor is 
used for study rooms, of which there are six; the third floor, 
which is used as a dormitory, has ample room for fifteen or 
more men. Many persons have expressed their opinion that 
it is an ideal home for any fraternity, and have voiced their 
hope that more fraternities will find their way to Fir Street 
with the expectation of making it the fraternity row of the 
University. 

The fraternity supports a summer camp each year, situated 
on the banks of the Portage Lakes. It affords splendid recrea- 
tion and a good time for the members and their friends during 
the summer months. Each man looks forward to the annual 
outing with great anticipation. 

The social committee arranges an interesting calendar for 
each school year. The Hermit's Fest, a stag banquet, is held 
every year on the second day of November in remembrance 
of the founding of the national organization. Other annual 
affairs are: the Winter Picnic, an informal dance, the Spring 
Frolic, and the Senior Farewell Banquet, an event following 
the Commencement exercises. To these may be added a 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 327 

number of house parties, and a series of smokers for our active 
members, alumni, and pledges. 

Forty-five of the members of Gamma Alpha Zeta took part 
in the Great War. Unfortunately one, Thomas B. Welker, 
was called upon to make the supreme sacrifice for his country. 
Tommy, as he was known at school and to his friends, was 
killed in action September 28, 1918, while fighting in the Ar- 
gonne Forest. 

One other member has passed to the Great Unknown — 
Howard E. Myers. Howard died on June 15, 1918, from 
the effects of being gassed while working in the chemical lab- 
oratories of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. 

An alumni association was formed in 1917, and now has a 
membership of forty-two. In 1 920 a number of other Lambda 
Chi Alpha men were blended with the old organization, 
forming the Lambda Chi Alpha Alumni Association of 
Akron. This association holds monthly meetings and has 
aided the active chapter in many ways. Besides giving this 
local aid, it has become an important part of the state organi- 
zation, and has offered valuable suggestions and carried out 
important work for the betterment of the national organization. 

The progress made by Gamma Alpha Zeta has been 
achieved as a result of the determination of its members. 
There is every reason to believe that, with the szune spirit of 
initiative. Lambda Chi Alpha should continue in the years 
to come to maintain its enviable position in the University of 
Akron. 



In addition to the organizations already described, there 
are three local honorary societies: Phi Sigma Alpha in the 
Liberal Arts College, O H M in the Engineering College, 
and Lance and Helmet, confined to the junior class in the 
Liberal Arts College. 



328 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

PHI SIGMA ALPHA 

Phi Sigma Alpha, the honor fraternity of Buchtel College 
of Liberal Arts, was founded in June, 1910, by the graduating 
class of that year. The class of 1910, though very desirous 
of presenting some memorial to their Alma Mater, had found 
nothing suitable, until Mdlle. Plaisance, then professor of 
romance languages, suggested the founding of an honor so- 
ciety. The idea of a living memorial which would grow 
larger and more influential each year, and which might even- 
tually become a part of Phi Beta Kappa, the great national 
honor fraternity of scholars, appealed very strongly to the 
members of the class. Committees were appointed, a name, 
badge, and colors chosen, and a constitution and by-laws 
drawn up. 

The colors of Phi Sigma Alpha are green and silver, and 
the badge is a replica of an ancient coin, in dull gold, bearing 
upon the face a Greek helmet encircled by a serpent and below 
it the Greek letters Phi Sigma Alpha. Upon the reverse are 
ten stars, the words, Buchtel College^ and the name and class- 
year of the owner. The purpose of the society is to give 
recognition to high scholarship in the undergraduate course 
and marked achievement after graduation, and ultimately to 
secure for Akron University a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. 

For several years the annual dinner, business meeting, and 
initiation were held during Commencement Week, with a 
social meeting at mid-year. However, in 1919 the plan was 
changed, and since then the initiation of candidates has taken 
place at mid-year and the social meeting in June. 

The chief matter of business and general interest now be- 
fore the fraternity is the perfection of plans for a campaign 
to secure a charter from Phi Beta Kappa. 

No history of this fraternity could be complete without 
mention of Doctor C. M. Knight, who since its founding has 
presided so graciously at all its meetings, and whose loyalty 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 329 

and enthusiasm have been unfailing. Doctor Kolbe and aJI 
the faculty members of Phi Sigma Alpha have been untiring 
in their service to the fraternity. 

The membership consists of: first, all the class of 1910; 
second, the Phi Beta Kappa members of the faculty; third, 
three students elected each year from the senior class — these 
students to represent the highest scholastic ability in the class; 
and, fourth, one honorary member elected yearly from the 
alumni. The honorary alumni members are: Doctor P. R. 
Kolbe, '01, E. L. Findley. '91, Dean A. I. Spanton. '99, 
Mrs. Susie C. Cole, '73, Alfred Herberich, '11, and Profes- 
sor Charles Bulger, '08. A complete list of the members of 
Phi Sigma Alpha is given in the Appendix of this History. 

OHM 

O H M is a local honorary fraternity confined to the Engi- 
neering College. It was founded in 1919. The purposes of 
the organization are : to promote a higher grade of scholarship 
among the engineering students, to provide proper recognition 
for special merit shown by leaders in school, and to bring 
about a finer school spirit both in the Engineering College and 
in the University as a whole. In order to be eligible for 
membership, students must be coming juniors in the Engineering 
College. The present membership includes: Corliss Kusz- 
maul, Lowell Judy, and Floyd Joel of the class of 1920, and 
Harold Dieterich, George Foster, Edgar Thorpe, Charles 
Carlin, and Robert Fletcher of the class of 1921. Dean 
Fred E. Ayer is honorary faculty member. 
LANCE AND HELMET 

Early in 1919 several members of the junior class of the 
College of Liberal Arts formed an honorary fraternity and 
named it Lance and Helmet. It was not until December 
that the fraternity formally announced itself and that the 
badge, a triangle of black bearing on its face a gold helmet 



330 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

behind which were crossed a pen and a lance, was first worn 
openly. 

The purposes of the organization are many: to bring about 
a greater harmony among the various organizations in the 
College; to provide a recognition for special merit shown by 
members of the class; to raise the scholastic standard of the 
members of the sophomore class, from which the members of 
Lance and Helmet are chosen, and to promote an all-round 
boosting spirit for the class and the University. 

The original membership included the founders: Rodney 
C. Sutton, William Knowlton, James Weeks, Alvah Deans, 
Jr., Ralph Frase, and William Rowley. Additional members 
are chosen from the sophomore class each year. Faculty 
members are Dean A. I. Spanton and Doctor A. B. Plow- 
man. The ceremony of pledging those chosen follows the 
"tap" system, and is part of the Tree Day exercises. 

The organization as yet is in its infancy, and while the 
possibilities for good are great, time alone can tell whether 
the work of the founders shall last and Lance and Helmet take 
a prominent place in promoting the welfare of the school and 
class. 



FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES 331 



COLLEGE DAYS 

Written by H. W. Motz, ex-' 1 6 

We'll ne'er forget those dear old college days. 
Those dear, sincere, sincere old college days, 
For it was there that friendships came to stay — 
Back at dear old U. of A. 

At U. of A. all hearts are always true. 
All loyal to the Gold and Blue — 
We'll ne'er forget that dreamy, golden haze 
Around our dear old college days. 



CHAPTER XVII 

STUDENT SCXIAL LIFE 
I 

the seventies and eighties 
(these being reminiscent musings of an iconoclast) 

TO one of seventeen, coming from a country town, the 
social activities at Buchtel seemed very formidable 
and awe-inspiring. If, at this late date, thirty years 
after, they seem less so, it is only because thirty years give 
one ample time to become a hardened misanthrope regarding 
even modern social functions. 

Buchtel was a country college, in spite of the fact that it 
was located in a growing town. There was little intercourse 
between town and college, and the college boys regarded the 
town boys with rank disfavor. So we were a community to 
ourselves, living our own lives, falling in love and falling out 
again quite precipitately, flunking in classes and occasionally 
passing, and finally graduating with all the pomp and cir- 
cumstance of real ceremony. Our pleasures were simple, al- 
though we took them most seriously. 

Social life naturally centered in the fraternities, of which 
there were three: the Lone Star, the Phi Delta Theta, and — 
I cross myself in my devotion to it yet — the Delta Tau Delta. 
The girls found solace and, I might add, much unrest, in the 
Kappa Kappa Gamma and the Delta Ganmia. Last spring 
we moved, my family and I, to a less Ethiopian, if perhaps 
a more Hebraic neighborhood. In the inevitable tearing up 
I came across a knot of ribbons, pink and blue and bronze. 
I cannot now remember what Delta Gamma affair it sym- 
bolized. I used to wonder, "Why the bronze?" A Delta 



SOCIALLIFE 333 

Gamma, to whom I was temporarily engaged, told me. I 
think she was "stringing" me. It happened that a man named 
Brown, curious to learn the workings of a sorority, having 
previously picked the lock to the fraternity room, hid under 
a couch during a rushing session. He was discovered. The 
only thing the girls could do in decency was to initiate him. 
The unusual possibility of having a man under the sofa made 
such a good rushing argument that the national body decided 
to crystallize his name in their colors. But brown is very 
plebean and there are so many shades of it. They compro- 
mised on bronze. 

The Lone Stars were splendid fellows, having an advantage 
that was no small one in a small college, that of being local. 
Membership in their fraternity did not debar them from fra- 
ternity affiliations in other colleges. They held always be- 
fore the hypnotized vision of the freshman students the vague 
possibility of finishing their work at Columbia or Yale or 
Cornell, and a chance of admission into the large and exclu- 
sive fraternities of the east. If they knew that the man al- 
ready half-trained in fraternity matters makes the worst sort 
of material, they never mentioned it. The argument was a 
powerful one, for while the average freshman who came to 
Buchtel did not know whether Columbia and Cornell were 
names of diseases or ice-free harbors in Russia, he appreciated 
the compliment of seeming to know. I can think of few 
errors in the choice of men that the Lone Stars made, and 
surely they were always most loyal and dignified in their 
devotion to their fraternity. 

There were always the usual tragedies of fraternity life, 
the heart-burnings of losing men to the others, but we of 
Delta Tau Delta worried along fairly well until that awful 
day when Harrison was nominated for the presidency of these 
United States. He was a Phi Delt. Viewed from this late 
day, I have difficulty in seeing the tragedy to be as great 



334 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

as it seemed to me at the time. Since then I have occasionally 
sat at meat with the high and mighty and with those in 
authority. Most of my illusions have been lost. But with 
the fall rushing only a month away, with the Phi Delts dang- 
ling a President and a possible visit to the White House be- 
fore the awed and wide-eyed sub- junior prep and equally 
impressed freshman, I knew that for once we were "up 
against it." 

A bright thought struck us. It was one of the few we 
ever had. Our founder, John R. Buchtel, helpless from age 
and disease, and hence quite non-resistant, was as yet un- 
claimed by any fraternity. We made him an honorary mem- 
ber of Delta Tau Delta. He was entirely unconscious of the 
distinction that came to him. I feel sure that he passed into 
the next life with no more knowledge of the mysteries of the 
fraternity than an Angora cat. But, believe me, it was a 
master stroke. To thoughtful freshmen a college founder at 
hand was worth several miragic Presidents in Washington. 
And when we of Delta Tau spoke with choking voices of 
Brother Buchtel's ill health, that made it impossible for him 
to stage our rushing parties in his home, and of his regret, 
and of his heartfelt wish that they should make no error in 
their choice of a fraternity, they fell on our necks and wept, 
and our pledge colors were drenched with tears. 

I shall never forget the dread day when President Har- 
rison was inaugurated. We had tried to steel ourselves for 
the blow, but we couldn't possibly be steeled enough. Never, 
before or since, have I seen as much blue and white ribbon 
as the Phi Delts wore that day in honor of Brother Harrison. 
I didn't know there was so much ribbon on earth. How I 
hated him, and them, and the whole republican party, and 
the whole republican form of government! If, at times, in 
Elysian fields, ex-President Harrison and John R. Buchtel, 
over their cups of nectar, that, to the best of my knowledge 



SOCIAL LIFE 335 

have not been interdicted there, are pleased to talk over the 
things they knew on earth, among them, I wot, will not 
be their beloved college fraternities. 

The Phi Delt method of rushing was very different from 
ours. When we had a serious fight on hand we locked up 
most of our Chapter, and the more we locked up the better 
were our chances of landing our men. But the Phi Delts be- 
lieved in publicity. Their chief asset was Hal Smith — he 
of the shapely legs. If Hal only had had wooden legs, 
or even — greater tragedy — had happened to spill some ink 
on that lemon-yellow suit of his that for four years he wore 
so effectively for Phi Delta Theta and so disastrously for 
Delta Tau, many a man to whom they now point with pride 
might be enrolled in our list of celebrities. They would 
place Hal, armed with his ivory and gold toothpick, which 
he used with such grace and effectiveness, at the college 
entrance; have Bob Tucker rub his hand and murmur "God 
is Love" at proper intervals; scatter as many of the Chapter 
as possible about the campus, where they knew Doctor Cone 
would have to speak to them as he crossed to classes, thus 
giving the new students the impression that they stood in with 
the faculty, and alas — the man was usually theirs. 

Always, in every chapter, there is some one person who 
regards every incident, no matter how trivial, from the point 
of view of his fraternity. There is no unrelated thing. He 
is usually an awful nuisance, and as usually an unhappy one. 
Such an enthusiast was I; and if I have dwelt at length on 
some phases of fraternity life in this personal chapter, it is 
because fraternity life was all of life to me at Buchtel. I 
shall never forget those recitation rooms that had to be swept 
each day; the mail that had to be distributed; the drinking 
tanks that had to be filled, and such other work as might 
have embittered my college life by shutting me out of its 
activities. But my fraternity did for me what all fraternities 



336 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

at Buchtel did for their members: it reached down to my 
foolish humiliation, to my sensitiveness and homesickness, and 
lifted me to its high plane of comradeship. 

The first social events that attended one's entrance into 
college were the "Socials," held every evening in the Woman's 
hall. It was a crowded hour, hedged in by some, but not 
too rigid restrictions. What memories that word "Social" 
will bring up in the minds of many! It was almost the only 
opportunity the students had of meeting one another socially, 
and they were few who did not avail themselves of it. Many 
were the love-affairs that had their inception there, and many 
many were the hearts broken, and as quickly mended again, 
in the hour between seven and eight o'clock. It was at the 
socials that we did our most strenuous fraternity rushing, and 
if some rushee proved too obdurate, we led him, like a lamb 
to the slaughter, to our best fraternity sister. Each fraternity 
had some mighty good boosters among the girls, and they did 
yeomen's work for us. If one loitered too long after the 
bell for dismissal rang, the next morning's mail was sure to 
bring him a large square envelope. Without opening it, he 
knew that he was debarred from the socials for a period of 
time, depending upon the enormity of his offense. The eve- 
nings were really gay; there was always the hum of voices, 
and music and singing; and, as time went on, the large groups 
gradually broke into smaller ones, until, by the term end, 
where there had been two groups of twenty or thirty, there 
would be thirty groups of two each. Many of us from the 
outlying districts got our first lessons in how to behave at a 
party at these social evenings, and, believe me, we needed 
them. At the end of the first week the toothpick might be 
discarded, or used possibly in the intervals when conversation 
lagged. Eventually one polished his shoes. If finally his 
heart became engaged, his linen advertised the fact. From 



SOCIALLIFE 337 

calfskin to patent-leathers was a weary way, but it was an 
assured one. 

One entertainment that was introduced early into Buchtel 
life and persisted for many years, was the college dance. 
Originally, until the gymnasium was finished, these dances 
were held down in the dining room, in the basement of the 
college building. The old building was destroyed by fire 
many years ago, and it will be impossible for Buchtelites of 
later generations ever to sense what dancing on that floor 
meant. The Art School adjoined, and, as our space was 
limited, it was opened up to give us more room. Outraged 
Venuses and Psyches peeped at us from unexpected corners, 
clothed all too sparingly in improvised draperies. The floor 
was execrable, but we had wondrous times. The square 
dances were danced co-educationally, but the round dances 
must be with those of one's own sex. I don't know yet why 
that ruling obtained. Whoever said that dancing is the poetry 
of motion never saw two men trying to waltz or polka together 
in the basement of Buchtel. 

The faculty sat in one corner of the room, in icy and 
lofty seclusion, and eyed us ominously. I think they feared 
that under the sin-compelling influence of the dance we would 
lead some husky partner to a bar and buy him a drink. In 
our fraternity we had one awful mentor, who prescribed 
for us the usages of social forms. His name was, and still 
is, Willard Holcomb, and as he has since become distinguished, 
I can afford to tell the truth about him. "You kids all ask 
the women of the faculty to dance tonight; do you hear? 
They won't accept, but it will make them strong for our 
fraternity; besides, I haven't attended a lecture for a week, 
and we've got to do something to keep them good-natured." 
Dutifully we obeyed. Dutifully we approached the awful 
presence of Miss Jewett and Miss Merrill and Miss Bortle, 
to beg the privilege of a dance. Quite courteously and quite 



338 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

regularly they declined, always. When I consider that all 
of my early training in dancing was acquired at these "balls," 
my head cushioned on the ample chest of Frank Apt or 
Elmer Felt, my halting feet, these days, may be explained. 

I remember almost every incident that ever happened at 
these dances, but one evening stands out as one apart, showing 
the simplicity of this phase of social life and its potential 
tragedy. Because her "steady" was put out of commission 
by an attack of tonsilitis, heaven graciously ordained that I 
should escort the season's — and all seasons' in my mind — 
"belle of Buchtel." "You're looking very nifty tonight," I 
opined. "Your dress is a dream." "Do you like it?" she 
asked. "I made it myself. It cost sixty-five cents." Later 
in the evening I ran across her, and she did not look quite 
happy. "Why so sad?" I asked. Her reply was charac- 
teristic, and will serve to identify her to anyone who attended 
Buchtel the troublous years between 1886 and 1890. "The 
Phis are rushing X. They want me to dance with him. 
There are just two things that I won't do for the Phi Delts; 
one is to dance with them, and the other is to marry them." 
Eventually she adhered to her resolution, but she had many 
narrow escapes. She did not marry a Phi Delt. Neither, 
by the way, did she marry a Delt. I just can't forget that 
night. 

There was no actual poverty among the students, and no 
great wealth. Many of the boys and girls worked their 
way through college. If it ever made any difference in the 
attitude of the other students toward them, I never saw any 
evidence of it, and I was in a fair way to judge. All of the 
students came from plain, substantial homes, and in many 
instances the sending of the boy or girl to college meant real 
sacrifice. The tuition, $40 a year, was a colossal and for- 
bidding sum to most of us. 



SOCIAL LIFE 339 

One had scarcely landed at the college entrance and been 
looked up and down as possible fraternity material, when the 
problem of where to eat became the paramount one. There 
were eating clubs run by students; the price per week was 
two dollars. There were more expensive private boarding 
houses, some going as high as three dollars a week. But a 
student who ate at such a place was regarded as vulgarly 
ostentatious and more or less of a snob. If perhaps he bore 
himself with greater dignity as he walked up the path to 
the main entrance, we of the commoners knew that he paid 
an extra dollar or two for the privilege, and were almost, 
but not quite, reconciled. 

The breakfasts were as fixed as the laws of the Medes and 
the Persians. On the morning we had a fried egg, we had 
no graham muffin; on the morning of the graham muffin, we 
had no egg. Two dollars a week, for three meals a day 
for seven days, does not seem an extravagant price to one 
living in these times. And yet it must have been worth while. 
The early fortunes of at least two plutocrats began in the 
humble clubs. As I rode with one of them a year ago in his 
high-power car, and surveyed with him his various holdings in 
a prosperous city, I got such comfort as I could in feeling 
that thirty years back I had contributed to his chances of 
success. 

Buchtel was a domestic, "far-from-the madding crowd" 
institution, with little excitement and few things to break the 
monotony. Once, from the windows of the Kappa frat room, 
a student was observed smoking a cigarette. He was from 
Oil City, Pennsylvania, a Godless place, and he did not 
know that smoking was considered sinful, at Buchtel. The 
Kappa meeting broke up in outraged disorder. At luncheon 
one of their number wept tears in her soup at man's depravity. 
It is easy to see how, under these circumstances, church going 
became almost an orgy, and the Sabbath a day to be antici- 



340 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

pated. as something quite apart. There is no doubt in my 
mind that church attendance did make a little difference in 
our gradings; the students, as a whole, attended services. 

Ours being a simple college, our clothes emphasized the 
fact. As we walked with God on Sunday, we walked quite 
simply clad; that is, mostly we did. There was one excep- 
tion. He was the president's son. His father, by virtue of 
his position, affected the now obsolete Prince Albert suit. He 
was very portly. His son was slender, but a skillful tailor 
had cut down a discarded suit until it fitted quite piously. He 
was the envy of his fraternity brothers and the despair of his 
fraternity rivals. How often have my Sabbaths been em- 
bittered as I walked behind him to church, admiring the long 
skirts of his coat as they clung about his knees, my own 
home-made clothes seeming so ineffectual in comparison. He 
was a canny boy, this slender, handsome son of his austere 
father, and most loyal to his fraternity, which, by the way, 
was not my fraternity. He had observed that the faculty 
was kindly disposed toward those who attended church. He 
had, himself, joined, and didn't he pass in everything, that 
term end? He was most generous. He offered to loan his 
Prince Albert suit to any one of his frat brothers who would 
join church. The temptation was far greater than that which 
confronted our Mother Eve. Sabbath after Sabbath some 
Phi Delt was led to a better life, garbed in Ed. Cone's 
clothes. The effect upon the student body was almost the- 
atrical. The chapter got the reputation of being spiritual. 
I don't know where the thing would have ended had it not 
been for "Andy" Kohler. He never was spiritual, and he 
was the last to succumb. His brothers in fraternity had 
wrestled with the devil within him, but the devil had posses- 
sion, which, as you know, is nine points of the law. But 
they dangled before him that suit of clothes, which had now 
become a real mantle of righteousness. He fell. Alas, he 



SOCIAL LIFE 341 

had then, as now, a very splendid pair of shoulders, and when 
he essayed the suit that had clothed the nakedness of Bob 
Tucker and Hal Smith, of Carl Henry and Asa Palmer, 
of Bert Henry and Cary Jones (all now redeemed), in their 
journeys to the overburdened altar where they had cast down 
their sins, the coat protested, and eke the vest and trousers. 
"Andy" ruined the little game. It is noteworthy that no Phi 
Delt ever subsequently joined the church — at least not until 
another suit could be cut down. I hand it to Bob Tucker foi 
one thing — he was always most generous with what did not 
belong to him. He roomed with Ed. Cone, and at one time 
when he was tripped up in his German he offered to let me 
wear the coat if I would do his translations. But he hedged 
me about with so many restrictions that I could not accept. 
I was to wear only the coat, and this only in Bob's room, 
some evening when Ed. Cone was not at home. I had thus 
to do his German quite bootless. 

In retrospect I look back over thirty years. I have seen 
so many instances where our fine but unlettered boys and girls 
rose to positions of great responsibility that I cannot help 
thinking their training at Buchtel was a large factor. We 
were scarcely more than a large family, each contributing his 
little share to the uplift of the others. Most of us had come 
from plain, substantial homes. If at first we lacked many of 
the amenities of social life, it was only because our opportunity 
had not come. 

Some of our men and women have attained national dis- 
tinction. There have been few absolute failures. With a 
faculty that knew all of us by name, gifted men and women 
who took their work seriously, and no doubt sacrificed for us 
many ambitions, we had an advantage that rarely comes to 
those who attend larger universities. When I think of the 
many happy intimate hours in the classroom, of the many 
opportunities of coming to know my teachers closely, of their 



342 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

uniform interest and courtesy, I, for one, am glad to ac- 
knowledge the advantage of an early training in a small 

college. 

II 

THE NINETIES AND LATER 

The social life of a college student is one of the important 
factors in his college education, and is of no less importance 
to his success in entering the larger world after college days 
than is his knowledge of science or language. Whatever of 
the social art lies dormant in the student, college life is sure 
to develop it, for has not every college witnessed the coun- 
try bumpkin blossom into a social bud, or the ugly duckling 
into a beautiful swan, in its social world? 

The natural situation of Buchtel has ever afForded a variety 
of opportunities for social entertainments. The many lakes, 
the beautiful scenery of the Gorge with its famous Fosdick*s 
Inn and chicken and hot biscuit suppers, Gaylord's Grove 
with its picnic grounds, the Cuyahoga River with its boating. 
Silver and Long Lakes with their dance pavilions. State Mill 
with its famous fish fries, the old canal, the chestnut groves 
and the sugar camps, all furnished varied kinds of entertain- 
ment and added to the charm of Buchtel social life. 

The opportunities for social development at Buchtel were 
especially favorable because of its being a small college. 
Every student was thought of individually; his peculiarities 
were noted by his professors and fellow students, and he was 
helped and ridiculed until he in turn became expert in the art 
of social training. 

The first social event the Buchtel freshman attended was 
the reception to new students, usually given the first Friday 
evening after college opened. Until the fire of '99 this event 
was held in the spacious parlors of West Hall, which were 
always so crowded as to overflow into the long halls extending 
the full length of the old building. After the fire Buchtel Hall 



SOCIAL LIFE 343 

was used for these social events, and still later the attractive 
reception room in Curtis Cottage. The burden of these recep- 
tions usually fell upon the sophomores, who bore the expense 
for refreshments; but the juniors often assisted with the 
decorating, and a committee of students appointed by the fac- 
ulty shared the responsibility for the success of the gatherings. 
It was here that the new student was formally introduced to 
the faculty and upperclassmen ; after this ordeal, unless he 
was already well initiated into the social world, he was likely 
to do his utmost to prevent the collapse of a small portion 
of college wall until he was discovered by a thoughtful upper- 
classman or a kindly professor, and relieved of his bashfulness. 

Soon after this first reception came the initiation, intended 
to scare the new candidate with all sorts of college pranks. 
Usually, however, it ended in a social evening with a dance 
in the gymnasium or a tally-ho ride into the country, leaving 
the poor "freshie" by the roadside to get back to town the 
best way he could. 

Class socials, especially among the freshmen, were always 
popular. These were usually held at the homes of members of 
the class who lived in or near Akron. On these occasions 
it was regarded as the absolute duty of the upperclassmen to 
try to steal the refreshments. All sorts of plans were tried, 
but not always with success. The sophomores came masked 
to one social only to find hot chocolate, which could not be 
carried away, instead of ice cream. In '98 there was a fresh- 
man social which was carefully watched by the sophomores, 
but the clever freshmen outwitted their enemies by eating re- 
freshments in small unsuspected groups. Many of these 
freshman socials were held at the homes of class members in 
neighboring villages, the journey being made in tally-hos in 
the spring and early fall, or in bob sleighs when snow was 
on the ground, and at times when it was not. On the occasion 
of a sleigh ride the social usually took the form of an oyster 



344 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

supper, but sometimes, because of lack of snow on the country 
roads, the party could not reach their destination, and came 
back to a town house for the oyster stew. It was not unusual 
for the sleigh to tip over; but nobody was the worse for it, 
and the only persons discomfited in the least were the 
chaperons. 

During the sophomore and junior years, these socials con- 
tinued, more elaborately perhaps, in the form of receptions, 
informal dances, and marshmallow, wiener, and corn roasts. 
The seniors, however, seldom indulged in regular class socials; 
perhaps because usually the class had dwindled considerably in 
size by the time the senior year was reached, and of the few 
who remained only a small minority were likely to be men. 
But the seniors always made up, in the brief senior vacation, 
for their previous inactivity in a social way. Since the gradu- 
ating class was usually small, it was the custom in those days 
for the president of the College and members of the faculty 
to entertain the seniors either in their homes or at the nearby 
attractive resorts. Every senior class during Miss Parsons' 
time enjoyed a chicken dinner at Mrs. Fosdick's at the Old 
Maid's Kitchen. Barberton Inn and Silver Lake were other 
popular places for entertaining the seniors. So dined and 
feted and feasted were the members of one graduating class 
that they were compelled to be entertained at breakfast in 
order to accept all the invitations. Nor must we fail to men- 
tion the Senior Promenade, for years the big social event of 
Commencement Week, and easily the most formal of all 
dances during the year. Every senior class did its best to 
surpass all previous classes in decorating the gym for the 
occasion. First was the reception, and then two seniors led 
the Grand March and the dancing began. On these occasions 
the faculty was lenient, permitting the dancing to continue into 
the wee small hours, long after the usual time. 



SOCIAL LIFE 345 

While the original Buchtel Hall stood, there was a pleasant 
gathering place for students and teachers in the west hall par- 
lors and the long halls leading thereto. Here every Wednes- 
day evening there was a social half-hour after tea which was 
much enjoyed. It was a jolly crowd that stood about the 
piano; and then there were the promenaders from the great 
west door to the east and return, and the twos and threes, 
especially the twos, who preferred the quiet tete-a-tete. On 
warm summer evenings, many an informal social was held 
on the outside west steps by groups of students who collected 
there. 

These socials, although especially for the dormitory girls, 
were attended by all the students. The dormitory girls were 
assigned the duty of hostesses, and did much to make the 
gatherings a social success. After the college building burned, 
the dormitory was moved to a dwelling on Union Street, 
named "Masaldwar" for its two benefactresses, Mrs. Mason 
and Mrs. Alden, and the preceptress. Miss Warner. Much 
of the social life of the girls centered here for two years, but 
after Masaldwar was given up little provision was made for 
a home for the girls until 1905, when Curtis Cottage was 
opened as a girls' dormitory. With this new center available, 
much was done to revive the former social life. Students at 
Buchtel between 1905 and 1914 will remember many a pleas- 
ant social affair held in the attractive parlor of the Cottage. 
Even with the giving up of the "dorm" when Buchtel College 
became the University of Akron in 1914, Curtis Cottage con- 
tinued to be the social center for the girls until Kolbe Hall 
was built and arrangements were made for an attractive girls* 
rest-room there. 

In writing of the social life of Buchtel during these years, 
it would be an unpardonable omission not to mention the 
names of Misses Bortle, Garrigues, Parsons, and Warner, 
who presided over the old west hall socials; Miss Ray, Miss 



346 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Bliss, and Mrs. Brookover, who were connected with Curtis 
Cottage; and Miss Stimmel, who, as director of the new 
school of home economics, has been in charge of the Cottage 
in recent years. 

It was in the Cottage circle that the Woman's League had 
its birth, an organization interested not only in the general 
welfare, but also in the social life, of Buchtel women. Much 
originality was displayed in the entertainments and socials 
given by the League. It entertained the new girls with thimble 
parties, receptions, and dances. It gave an annual fair, a 
carnival, a circus, a garden party, a minstrel show, a jubilee, 
a mock Japanese wedding, or a dance, using the funds thus 
secured to help the football team, to fit up a rest-room for the 
college girls, or to provide an educational fund for needy 
girl students. Its members were not confined to the College 
alone, but included outside women interested in the College, 
often mothers of the girls. The League did much to promote 
the social life of Buchtel women. 

Dancing has always been popular at Buchtel, and many 
an awkward boy or girl has attained grace and ease of manner 
from attending the college dances. Students who danced on 
the dining-room floor of the old building in the days before 
the College could boast a gymnasium were true lovers of 
the art. The room may have been small, the floor rough, and 
all facilities woefully meager from the point of view of today, 
yet it may well be doubted whether college students of the 
present get as much real enjoyment from the dance as did 
the enthusiastic Buchtelites of the seventies and eighties. 

As soon as the gymnasium was built, the dances were held 
there. These gymnasium dances were conducted by a dance 
committee composed of three upperclassmen and the social 
committee from the faculty. Three dances were allowed each 
term — one formal and two informal. Few outsiders attended 
in early years, but later the town young people were invited, 



SOCIAL LIFE 347 

and the college dances became important social features for 
the young people of the town as well as for the student body. 
From time to time the college girls had a dancing party of 
their own, a practise not always approved by the boys, for 
on at least one occasion they took revenge by giving a dance 
and inviting only town girls. The development of these 
dances is interesting, from the old college dining-room dances 
— square dances to piano music with no decorations or re- 
freshments — to the later gymnasium dances, with a full-piece 
orchestra and palms, a buffet lunch, a reception committee, 
a grand march, programs, favors, and even a patron list, which 
last was introduced at the Senior Promenade in 191 1. Men- 
tion has been made of the Senior Promenade, given during 
Commencement Week, as the most formal of all the college 
social affairs. A few years ago was introduced the Junior 
Hop, a party at midwinter by the juniors in honor of the 
seniors. Next to the Senior Promenade, this is now the most 
elaborate college dance of the year. Recently these two for- 
mal parties have changed places, the Senior Prom, now being 
the midwinter party and the Junior Hop coming Commence- 
ment Week. 

Both general holidays and college holidays were usually 
occasions for some sort of social pleasure. Hallowe'en parties 
were common. The old college dining-room, decorated with 
pumpkins and corn shocks, made an excellent hall of mystery, 
with its fortune-teller and Hallowe'en amusements. Of course 
there were doughnuts and coffee, and everybody joined in the 
Virginia Reel and the various Hallowe'en games. In later 
years it was customary to have a Hallowe'en dance in the 
gymnasium. In the observance of Washington's Birthday and 
Founder's Day the social part was no small feature. While 
the celebration frequently took the form of a program of 
music and readings, an address by some alumnus or person 
of note from Akron or out of town, a debate by the students. 



348 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

a mock banquet, or a series of historical tableaux, almost al- 
ways there was a social hour with dancing after the formal 
program, and often the entire evening was given to a recep- 
tion and a dance. 

In speaking of the social features of college holidays, we 
must not omit Tree Day, which, since 1902, has been the 
chief student holiday. 

Credit for introducing this excellent custom belongs to 
President A. B. Church. At Saint Lawrence University — 
his Alma Mater — Tree Day had long been in vogue. Doctor 
Church felt that a custom which had proved to be so good for 
Saint Lawrence should not be lost to Buchtel. 

The leading features of Tree Day have remained much 
the same from the beginning, including the planting and dedi- 
cating of class trees, various class "stunts," and the banquet 
at the gymnasium in the evening with toasts by representatives 
of the different classes and the faculty — "Prexy" always be- 
ing toastmaster — and the freest, noisiest, and happiest expres- 
sion of class and college spirit. 

The 1903 Tree Day was typical. Put to student vote at 
Chapel on April 15, the matter was carried unanimously, the 
students voting to have a full holiday, with procession, dedi- 
cations, and class stunts in the afternoon, and banquet in the 
evening. Professor Egbert was Field Marshal. The Post 
Band of Kent was secured for fourteen dollars to lead the 
procession, the students assessing themselves ten cents each 
to pay the bill. The assessment proving inadequate, the 
faculty assessed themselves twice as much and the deficit was 
thus wiped out. The campus presented a gay appearance, 
ribbons of various colors streaming from the class trees. Of 
the class programs, two deserve special mention, the senior 
prep, stunt — a mock Chapel, and the freshman stunt — a bur- 
lesque graduation entitled "The Class of 1903." The ban- 
quet was a great success. The attendance of students and 



SOCIALLIFE 349 

faculty numbered 151. The "collation" was furnished by 
the ladies of the Universalist Church at 35 cents per plate, 
the menu including fruit salad, veal loaf, potatoes, cheese, 
pickles, tea and coffee, bread and butter, olives, ice cream 
and cake. But it is evident that even in those days there was 
a limit to what 35 cents could purchase, for an interesting 
and clarifying notation tells us, "President Church furnished 
the ice cream." After the toasts, chairs and tables were 
quickly pushed aside and dancing was the order of the hour. 

For several years it was the custom to have the exercises 
on the campus in the afternoon, leaving the morning free for 
the classes to decorate their trees and prepare for the afternoon 
exercises. Sometimes in addition there would be a ball game 
in the forenoon. In late years it has been customary to re- 
verse this procedure, and to have the campus exercises in the 
morning, with some athletic event in the afternoon. 

The transition to the practise of crowning the May Queen 
— now always a leading feature of Tree Day — evidently came 
in 1909, for the first issue of The Buchtelite after the Tree 
Day of that year gives the following information: 

"Tree Day this year at Buchtel was a distinct innovation. 
Heretofore it has been the custom to leave the exercises to the 
originality and ingenuity of the different classes, and as time 
went on it became harder to devise something different from the 
exercises of preceding years. This year, however, under the 
leadership of Miss Rines, the celebration took the form of a 
regular old English May Day. A large procession of dancers 
and court followers, accompanying the King and Queen, were 
led by the court jester to the throne which was placed in a 
shady spot on the campus. Here the Queen, Miss Harriet Dodge, 
was crowned, and then followed the dances on the green: a 
Morris dance given by Academy girls, a Milk Maid and For- 
ester's dance, and winding of the May Pole. A quartette fur- 
nished two selections of college songs. As is perfectly fitting 
and proper, the usual rain came and put an abrupt end to 
the exercises." 

An annual event to which the Buchtel students of the nine- 
ties looked forward with great interest was the A. F. G. Picnic, 



350 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

better known as the "Dutch Picnic." Originated by Doctor 
Carl F. Kolbe as an outing for his classes, it soon became so 
popular that all college students were included in the invita- 
tion. It was held shortly before Commencement. Two things 
decided the date: fair weather and a full moon; and the 
chosen place was Long Lake. The old canal steamer was 
chartered; the girls packed baskets, heaped to the brim; and 
all were off for a good time. Doctor Kolbe was Chief Mar- 
shal of the day. After the picnic supper, dancing and boating 
were enjoyed until the moon was at its best, when all boarded 
the old boat again. Few trips were made without the boat's 
being stuck in the weeds and mud at some point along the way, 
and often the tired young people were obliged to walk back 
to Akron. The College Band appeared at its best on these 
occasions, and the students were always unanimous in their 
expression of a good time. 

In the spring of '99, the weather being unfit for an outing, | 
the picnic supper was served in the college dining-room, and 
the dance was held in the gymnasium. On another occasion, 
the steamer refused to run, and the waiting passengers were 
obliged to choose another picnic spot. The Gorge was hastily 
chosen; but when the picnic supper was served it was dis- 
covered that some of the baskets and their owners had chosen 
to go to Long Lake in buggies, and had not known of the 
change of place; consequently, the picnickers were divided 
between Long Lake and the Gorge, some with sandwiches and 
the others with desserts. The A. F. G. picnics were discon- 
tinued after the death of Professor Kolbe, but the memory 
of them will always remain in the minds of those students 
who were fortunate enough to attend them. 

Of course, then, as now, much of the college social life 
centered in the fraternities and sororities. The fall was usually 
filled with "rushing" parties for the purpose of entertaining 
prospective candidates. These consisted of spreads, week-end 



SOCIAL LIFE 351 

parties, and various social affairs for the girls, and similar 
dinners and card parties for the boys. 

There were also annual celebrations peculiar to each fra- 
ternity. Delta Gammas celebrated March 1 3 with a birthday 
banquet, at which letters were read from absent members ; and 
every New Year's day they gave a reception to all college 
students at some private home. The Kappas entertained an- 
nually at Commencement with a luncheon, usually at Fosdick's 
or Gaylord's Inn. The Lone Stars were famous for their 
fish-fries at State Mills, to which each member took his lady 
friend for an outing, and for their big dancing parties, for the 
success of which no expense was spared. One may be sure, 
too, that the Lone Stars attended church at least once a year, 
for one Sunday was always set aside for this purpose. They 
went in a body, and made an impression on the congregation 
and minister; and afterwards had a great feast at the hotel. 
Whether it was the feast or the moral obligation which 
brought them out, it cleared their record for the year and set 
a good example to the younger members. But if the Lone 
Stars had their fish-fries, the Zetas had their "love feasts," 
and both fraternities had frequent parties. Many of these 
were only for the members; "stag" parties were always popu- 
lar, yet often the fraternities entertained the girls at Fosdick's 
or Gaylord's, or invited them to card parties at the fraternity 
houses. In 1907 and succeeding years the Zetas went to 
Cleveland in special cars for their annual banquets, which 
were held at the Hollenden Hotel, in strong contrast to the 
old tally-ho rides and chicken dinners. 

In addition to the fraternities and sororities, there were other 
groups that had social pleasures peculiar to themselves. One 
of these was the Aunty Brown circle, a group of students 
continually changing during the thirty years of Aunty's noble 
work in helping boys and girls through Buchtel. In the "Old 
Shoe," as the house on Carroll Street which Aunty occupied 



352 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

was called, these young people were given the opportunity to 
board themselves, do their own washing, and in various other 
ways reduce expenses to a minimum. The practising of strict 
economy was not a hardship, however, for not only was "plain 
living" always combined with "high thinking" in Aunty*s 
home, but the young people had good social times together 
planning and cooking their simple but wholesome meals, wash- 
ing the dishes, and doing the other tasks incident to keeping 
house. 

The leading social event of the year in the Aunty Brown 
circle was the celebration of Aunty's birthday on the evening 
of December 1 1 . This always took the form of a "baked- 
bean banquet," the only sort of banquet allowable in the 
simple home life of the "Old Shoe." Besides the beans, there 
were the inevitable and delicious honey and hot biscuits, and 
red-cheeked apples from "York State." Usually there were 
one or two members of the group, of more Epicurean pro- 
clivities than the rest, who persisted in smuggling to the board 
jelly and cheese and even hot cocoa. But Aunty was gracious, 
and permitted these liberties for the nonce. So far as known, 
however, nobody ever dared go farther. What! no coffee? 
Surely not, for was not coffee anathema, even as "reeking 
sausages" would have been the unpardonable sin? 

The limits of this paper forbid more than passing mention 
of other agencies that ministered to the social life of Buchtel 
students. Nor can we hope to mention all. There are sure 
to be some omissions, for, in college as elsewhere, social life 
is not a thing apart, but is woven intimately with every ac- 
tivity. When the College was more closely identified with the 
Universalist denomination, the local church did much for the 
student social life, receptions, conversational parties, and other 
social gatherings in the church parlors being of frequent oc- 
currence, and everything possible being done to make the out- 
of-town students feel at home. And then there was the social 



SOCIAL LIFE 353 

side of the football games and other athletic contests, and the 
celebrations of the victories made by the teams; of the ora- 
torical contests and the meetings of debating clubs and literary 
societies; of the trips of the glee clubs to neighboring towns, 
the tramps of the botany and geology classes for specimens, and 
the visits of the chemistry classes to the industries of the city. 
Professors took a kindly personal interest in their students, and 
often invited out-of-town students to their homes. And then 
there was Commencement Week, with the Senior Prom., the 
Commencement Dinner, the Alumni Banquet, and, last of all, 
the President's Reception, the closing social gathering of the 
college year, when so many farewells were said, and when the 
seniors reluctantly bade good-bye to the old College where 
they had spent four such delightful years. 

If co-education has its losses, it also has its gains : it is strong 
on the social side of student life. Manners are not unim- 
portant, for upon them depend in no small measure the smooth- 
ness and the happiness of home life, the tenure of friendship, 
and both business and professional success. Those who have 
known Buchtel students for a series of years could name among 
them many gracious models of lovely manners, and name pairs 
of lovers who conducted themselves with such common sense, 
with such devotion to their duties as well as to each other, that 
they won the respect and admiration of their little world. 
Buchtel College has been fortunate in being co-educational, 
in having both resident and non-resident students, and in stand- 
ing in the midst of a thriving town, for these conditions have 
made easy the development in the student body of a whole- 
some social life. 



354 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



The starlight on our campus 

Is golden glory still; 
The elm trees' riper beauty 

Old promises fulfill; 
The breath of bygone roses 

Enchants the vagrant breeze; 
And Alma Mater binds us 

By a thousand memories. 

Blanche Olm Twiss, '07. 



CHAPTER XV III 
TRADITIONS AND FUN 

IN the storied tapestry of college years since the beginning, 
the gold thread of tradition links and gives sequence to the 
separate pictures. Winding through the silver back- 
ground of scholastic endeavor, this gold thread is interwoven 
too through patches of color — pictures of student customs and 
traditions and the lighter side of college life — which, although 
having no place in the spectrum of official sanction, neverthe- 
less illuminate the fabric, and are part of the whole. The 
desirable view of the great tapestry of the college years is 
the view of all of it, and the sterling worth of the silver back- 
ground is none the less because the thread runs through epi- 
sodes of higher coloring splashed along its course. Wherever 
the thread may wind, it still is golden. 

Although young in years compared with many other col- 
leges, Buchtel is rich in student customs and traditions. Some 
of these have been sanctioned by the powers that be; others, 
not. From the first there have always been some Buchtel 
students enrolled for research in courses not listed in the cata- 
logs, courses for which the campus at night has been one of 
the main laboratories for nearly half a century. Since the 
first class entered Buchtel, there has never been a year when 
there were not present inquisitive and adventurous spirits keenly 
interested in experiments not regularly assigned in chemistry 
or physics, experiments calling for the invasion of many rooms 
besides the regular recitation rooms and laboratories, sometimes 
by day, but more frequently by the light of the moon, or better 
still, when light there was none. 

This part of Buchtel story falls naturally into two great 
periods, before the fire and after, for the character of student 
life along certain general lines varied in each. The first period 



356 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

includes the time from the incorporating of the CoUege in 
1870 and the opening of the doors in 1872 until the fire, 
December 20, 1899. During these years, which may be 
called the period of "the Old College," student life centered 
in the five-story building, great among its kind in its day, 
which embraced in itself not only classrooms, offices, and dor- 
mitories, but also bakery, kitchen, dining room, and store- 
rooms. 

From the year after the fire to the present is the period of 
"the New College," in which some types of student enterprise 
were made impossible, and the character of student life 
changed in certain particulars. The dormitory life of the 
College ended with the fire, and no men have lived on the 
campus since. Women were domiciled for a period of several 
years, prior to the institution's expansion to university size, in 
the modern "dorm," which, however, has passed from that 
usage and by a perfectly regular process of evolution has be- 
come the home of the department of domestic science. There 
are no present dormitories of any kind. 

And yet, for the purposes of this chapter, the two periods 
are one. The gold thread of tradition in the tapestry of Buch- 
tel history is not broken, but continuous. True, the nineties 
saw the end of the old Buchtel dormitory days and of the 
old college building; but the old spirit remained. When, on 
that December night in '99, the old year, already wrapping 
his winter robes about him, ready for the ferry that soon 
would carry him across the midnight into the past, saw the 
flames suddenly shoot skyward from Buchtel hill, we may 
well imagine that the ghosts of college traditions . shivered 
among the campus trees, mourning because their home was 
gone. But their mourning was short-lived. When the new 
college rose under the hands of the builders, there was a niche 
for every tradition. The spirit of the College carried on over 
the period of transition. The ghosts of traditions of the very 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 357 

earliest days still whisper about the campus on moonlight 
nights, when the buildings stand out in silhouette against the 
sky and the streets are still. Any venturesome collegian who 
ever has roamed the grass or explored the college halls at night 
will relate that they do, and that they urge him forward, for 
old times' sake, if for no other reason. 

It is in the first printed college rules that we must look to 
find the springs of the earliest traditions. Among these official 
regulations, published in '74, were the following: 

"Students are expected to be kind and respectful to others. 

"No student is allowed to take or remove furniture from the 
rooms; to mark, cut, drive nails into the buildings; to throw 
anything to or from the windows; to spit upon the floors, or in 
any way deface the college property. 

"Students must refrain from all improprieties in the halls, such 
as boisterous talking or scuffling, and must not visit each other's 
rooms without permits. 

"Young men and young women are not allowed to take walks 
or rides together v^athout permission. 

"A student boarding in the college is not expected to invite 
a friend to a meal, or to tarry in the building over night, without 
the permission of the superintendent of the building. 

"No student shall fire gunpowder in the college building or 
on the premises, or engage in card playing or any form of 
gambling in the college or in the city, or visit liquor saloons or 
billiard rooms, or commit injuries upon the person or property of 
any student. 

"Students are not allowed in the kitchen, bakery, storeroom, 
or basement of the college. 

"Assignments will be made from time to time to the students 
for using the gymnasium ; the young women will have their season 
for exercising in it, and young men theirs. 

"Students who find it necessary to be out of the college in 
the evening later than the hour the doors are closed for the night, 
must make previous provision for entering the college with some 
professor or officer of the college. Entering through a window 
or by a forged key or in any improper way will subject a student 
to suspension or expulsion. 

"The faculty shall have authority to visit and search any room 
in the college, using force if necessary to enter it, and assess all 
damages occasioned by violations upon the offender. 

"At all public exercises given in the college chapel, the young 
men will occupy the east side and the young women the west 
side." 



358 FIFTY YEARS OF BUGHTEL 

These rules make possible a perspective in considering the 
olden days. A perusal now of that code results in the in- 
voluntary observation, "So these are the things they used to 
do!" The list of things the students were told they shouldn't 
do leads into the story of the things they did. One or two 
examples must suffice. 

The old building was locked at 9:30 each evening. Hence 
one of the first forms of student activity out of hours at Buchtel 
was to escape from the building at night for sundry purposes, 
two of which were to seek the grapes that purpled on the vines 
of the neighborhood, and to search out cider barrels in nearby 
cellars. There were different means of night egress and in- 
gress. One was through the chemical laboratory of the old 
building; another, through the basement door; and a third, 
through the engine room. At one time a rope ladder was in 
use. The fire-escape from the dormitory floors also afforded 
opportunities not to be neglected. And they never were. 
There was also a key. It is legend as to whence it came or 
who possessed it last; but through years of the early college 
period a key to the east hall door was handed down from 
class to class and utilized for night expeditions. 

Indoors as well as out the fun of the students in those early 
days was found to no small degree in violating written and 
unwritten rules, and playing all sorts of pranks on faculty 
members in charge. A favorite prank was blowing air into 
the gas-pipes, thus putting the lights out of commission. Riding 
on bed-slats down the stairways was one of the most popular 
and most successful ways of making night hideous and the 
watchful professor angry. 

When Professor Jones used to have charge of the boys in 
East Hall, they seemed to feel it was their main business and 
special duty to make him all the trouble they could; so slat 
rides and other disturbances were of nightly occurrence. He 
was succeeded by Professor Bates. At once the boys fur- 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 359 

nished him as much entertainment as they had furnished Pro- 
fessor Jones. He had a room at the foot of the east stairway 
on the second floor. On one occasion the boys found an iron 
dumb-bell, heated it hot over the gas jet, and then started it 
down the stairs. It made a glorious racket as it bounded 
down, to be picked up and then quickly dropped by the pro- 
fessor, who was waiting for it at the foot of the stairs. 

Especially irksome in the early years must have been the 
unreasonably strict rules governing the relations between the 
men and the women students. What better challenge to young 
blood to break rules than such a regulation as this, "Young 
men and young women are not allowed to take walks or rides 
together without permission"? Should the graves ever yield 
up their dead, and all secrets be made known, there will be 
related many a spicy story of clandestine meetings in the old 
chapel and elsewhere that will be a startling revelation to the 
faculty of the time, who thought they were aware of every- 
thing that was happening. Not all of the fun was in these 
secret meetings. A humorous story comes down from 1882 
of how the students openly ridiculed the rule by obeying it to 
the letter. On a Sunday night forty or fifty young men and 
women attended the same church, and after the service ar- 
ranged themselves in two orderly lines, five feet apart, and in 
this formation marched away, not a word being spoken until 
they reached the College. 

The following clipping from an Akron newspaper of the 
year 1879 gives a good clue to what conditions were in the 
seventies. It is very evident the tradition was already strong 
among the students that rules are made to be violated, that 
pranks and jokes are essential to college life, and that it is the 
business of the students to keep the faculty busy with other 
matters than strictly classroom duties: 

"The boarding house system connected with Buchtel College 
places upon its faculty the duties of an innkeeper. It is a fact 



360 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

well known that hour after hour and evening after evening have 
been spent by the faculty in deciding what rooms the students 
should occupy, at which tables they were to be seated, how to 
prevent them from coming home late to their meals, how to 
prevent an undue lingering at the table, how to keep infatuated 
young ladies and gentlemen apart when coming from the dining 
room, how to keep students out of the kitchen, how to prevent 
the unlawful appropriation of pies, cakes, etc., how and when 
to lock the house, how to keep students from stealing the keys, 
how to prevent them from climbing in the windows. 

"Recently, a special session of the faculty was called to decide 
the following grave boarding house question. A couple of 
students, among the best in the College, had appropriated a mat- 
tress from the adjoining, unoccupied room. When, after a fruit- 
less remonstrance on the part of the steward, the mattress in 
question had been forcibly recovered and replaced in its room, 
these incorrigible students who liked soft mattresses, and plenty 
of them, again stole the coveted article. 

"This complicated case was submitted to the grave considera- 
tion of the president and by him brought before the faculty, who 
spent many hours deliberating what should be done to the offend- 
ing students. All of which goes to show that some action should 
be taken to relieve the faculty of these weighty responsibilities 
in order that they may have time for the proper teaching of their 
classes." 

Under the head of definite college pranks there are several 
interesting incidents belonging to the early years of Buchtel. 

Before the end of the first four years of college life, an 
exploit was achieved w^hich has lived in college history ever 
since. Inquiry reveals that almost every class in the past 
forty years heard, while in school, a tale of "once upon a 
time," when the college awakened of a morning to find a 
wagon installed on the roof of the old building, whence it had 
to be removed in pieces. It happened in 1876. The wagon 
came from what in those days was "CoUins's wagon shop" 
on Main Street. The wagon was hauled to the college, the 
enterprising wagoners took it apart, from wheels to top- 
boards, and part by part it was carried to the high building's 
roof. There it was assembled, to start a buzz of wonderment 
next day that has persisted until now. 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 361 

TTiis story of the wagon suggests the later, but hardly les« 
famous, story of the cow. One night an unofHcial and hastily 
improvised class in biology induced a cow, her feet mufHed 
in carpet, to climb the stairs in the stillness of the velvety dark 
evening, and on an upper dormitory floor they hitched her to 
the knob of a professor's door. The professor opened his 
door in the morning, and in walked the cow. A peculiar thing 
about the cow was that although she had been led upstairs 
in the dark with no particular difficulty, nothing in the world 
would persuade her to walk down in the light of morning. 
The problem finally had to be solved by the construction of 
an inclined plane, formed by laying boards up the stairs. 
Then the cow was thrown, her feet tied, and on her side 
she went sliding down the boards. 

A common prank in the old building was that of dropping 
paper sacks filled with water. The stairways were so ar- 
ranged that there was an open area from the first floor to the 
upper floors, where were the dormitories. This afforded 
splendid opportunity for testing the laws of gravitation with a 
sackful of water, to establish whether, if the sack were dropped 
from an upper floor, the water would deluge a person happen- 
ing to be near the rail on the first floor. It usually did. 

This was a favorite trick. The victim was as likely to be 
a professor as a student. On one occasion a mischievous boy, 
who always looked angelically innocent, dropped an unusually 
large sack of unusually cold water with unusually accurate 
aim on the head of an unusually tall, slender, black-bearded, 
deep-voiced professor. The indignant instructor, almost as 
wet as a drowned rat, rushed with fearful leaps to the top 
floor, and burst into the room of the innocent-looking boy, who 
was sitting at his desk evidently hard at work on his Greek. 
Surprised, but with perfect composure, the boy said, "Why, 
professor, what in the world has happened?" And the pro- 
fessor was so taken aback that he retreated without saying a 



362 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

word. The innocent-looking boyj in telling the story to some 
chums, said, "It was mighty lucky for me he didn't come over 
to the desk, for I had jerked that Greek book up in such a 
hurry, I was holding it upside down." 

The wearing of caps and gowns by college seniors causes no 
wonder in these modern times. Everybody thinks it appro- 
priate. So popular has the fashion become that many high 
schools have adopted it. Yet the inauguration of this custom 
at Buchtel in 1883 aroused a wordy controversy. Letters 
were written to the editors of the newspapers, discussing 
whether it was in the interests of good Americanism and de- 
mocracy to permit the introduction of a custom traced to the 
"disgraceful" town rows at Oxford University, where students 
were required to don a distinguishing gown to mark them in 
the event of fights with the "townies." One writer of a news- 
paper-letter objected on religious grounds. Appearance of 
the garments through the town raised a hue and cry. "Pull 
down your shrouds!" "Where do you preach?" These and 
similar salutations were heard whenever the obnoxious garb 
dared to show itself. It was only very gradually that the 
College and Akron became willing to recognize as a good 
custom a practise which is accepted today as a matter of course. 

From academic caps and gowns to night shirt parades may 
seem a sudden dropping from the sublime to the ridiculous, yet 
both have their place in the history of college custom and tradi- 
tion. Night shirt parades began in dormitory days, and the idea 
has not been lost in later times, even without dormitories. In the 
school year of 1909-10, a band of ghostly figures with white 
shirts draped over their clothing started from Buchtel for a 
downtown parade. Through hotels and theater lobbies the 
procession moved, and the parade concluded back at the 
campus, where the white-garbed participants circled the girls* 
"dorm" and at a signal raised a yell that awakened the in- 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 363 

mates and the neighborhood, caused a whistle to be blown from 
the window of a nearby residence, and brought a policeman. 

Perhaps in place, perhaps not; nevertheless the historian 
here intends to depart for a sober moment from the text to 
pay tribute to the memory of a policeman who tramped the 
old college hill "beat," the very policeman who appeared the 
night of that "night shirt" parade, and who disappeared when 
he found no harm was being done by the youngsters on the 
campus, as he had done before; a policeman who knew col- 
lege men of at least one decade by first names and nicknames, 
and who was called "Rich" by them, for his name was 
Gethin Richards; a policeman who, not many months before 
this writing, died by a murderer's hand while discharging his 
duty in the darkness of an Akron night when bandits were 
operating. 

For many a Buchtel man of that college time, of the years 
just before and after 1909, there was a pang of honest sorrow 
the day the newspapers carried word of how Gethin Richards 
was shot to death in the Akron streets by men who since 
have answered for that murder in the electrocution chamber at 
the Ohio Penitentiary. His name is mentioned here with 
affectionate respect, because his name is tradition to Buchtel 
men of one period, and because men kindlier-hearted than 
"Rich" we have never known. 

To make a freshman realize he is a freshman has been al- 
ways part of the college code. Hence in every college a 
leading source of custom and tradition is found in the way the 
upperclassmen have treated the freshmen at different periods 
in the history of the school. In Buchtel's early days "bounces" 
were part of the process. This ancient and noteworthy custom 
of tossing the "freshie" in a blanket continued until into the 
nineties. From time to time there have been flag fights, but 
they never had regular vogue. The first was on March 19, 
1883. They usually have been precipitated by the anxiety 



364 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

of some enthusiastic freshman or sophomore to pin his class 
colors to the highest top of a building or flag pole, and the 
resultant determination of the opposing class to tear them 
down. 

Hazing in the harder sense was never popular at Buchtel. 
At best, it ran only an irregular course. It was never viewed 
with official toleration, and it appealed to but few in the 
student body. Freshman initiations of one form or another 
have been indulged in all through the years of Buchtel's his- 
tory, but seldom in a spirit of hard hazing. 

In late years there has been substituted for the initiation a 
regularly conducted contest: a game of football or basket- 
ball, a tug of war, or some other athletic event between fresh- 
men and sophomores, on the outcome depending whether the 
freshmen have a right to flaunt their colors before their sec- 
ond year. 

The culminating initiations of the hard hazing sort seem 
to have been in 1 903 and 1 904. That of 1 903 was typical. 
The freshman men were taken into the basement of the gym- 
nasium. A clipper was plowed through the center of each 
man's hair from the forehead to the collar at the back. Starch 
paste in which had been mixed a drug not purchased at the 
perfumery counter was worked into the remaining hair, which 
on each side was rounded up to a point like the horns of 
Faust's friend. After this, fly paper was wrapped about the 
legs below the knees, shoes were filled with molasses, and both 
arms of each freshman were painted white. Then the men 
were taken upstairs for presentation to the freshman girls, 
whom the girls of the upper classes had been entertaining by 
taking down their hair and painting their faces all colors. The 
girls had been set to work counting the cracks in the floor, and 
on appearance of the men were invited to dance with their 
partners while the upperclassmen sat it out 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 365 

In 1904 it was decided by the upper classes to tie the 
freshmen and make them watch the upperclassmen dance. 
But, the freshmen resisting, all the upperclassmen rushed to 
the aid of the sophomores. What followed, if it happened in 
a box car, would be called a "clem." The next year the 
faculty persuaded the upper classes against hazing by giving 
a party to all the classes. According to a student of the time, 
the 1903 initiation ended the old days of hazing. 

But the tradition of initiating the freshmen was too deep- 
seated to be removed suddenly and forever by faculty per- 
suasion. Not so easily would the sophomores yield up their 
inalienable rights. Accordingly, on the night of a reception 
to new students, in the autumn of 1905, a group of sophomores 
obtained a bronco and spring wagon which were parked in a 
dark corner on Center Street. The sophomores enticed out, 
tied, and gagged eight freshmen, intending to carry them into 
the country and give youthful limbs an encouragement toward 
physical culture by permitting the first-year men to walk back. 
One of the freshmen, however, escaped from the spring wagon, 
where the eight were piled, and gave the alarm at Buchtel 
Hall. A running fight followed, in which several blank cart- 
ridges were fired, and the "bronc" was brought up against a 
factory wall to prevent the wagon, the freshmen, and the 
sophomore drivers from being carried through an inopportunely 
lowered railroad crossing gate. The freshmen were released, 
and the sophomores in their wagon evaded efforts at capture 
and got away. 

From time immemorial a favorite method of the sophomores 
to keep the freshman humble has been to raid freshman socials, 
steal the provisions, and cause all the annoyance possible. Evi- 
dently the custom is as popular now as in the olden days, for 
when the writer of these lines visited the University of Akron 
recently, he learned that the latest case of discipline to be 
brought before the Student Council was that of two venture- 



366 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

some sophomores who had dared, even under the nose of 
faculty supervision, to enter the "Gym." during a freshman 
social, turn off the lights, and try to purloin the punch and the 
cake. 

Raids upon freshman socials have sometimes led to bizarre 
results. Following a trip by upperclassmen into the cellar 
of an Akron home where the freshman class held a party on 
Hallowe'en of 1907, the grand jury summoned five students. 
The remainder of the story is told in newspaper headlines of 
succeeding days: 

"Investigation Still On." 

"Only Witnesses — Buchtel Students Say They Are Not 
Guilty." 

"Case Against Students Dismissed." 

To close the series, a final headline might have been written: 

"Hie Jacet — " 

In the college year of 1 909- 1 0, a memorable class struggle 
occurred when the freshmen, who had a strong-armed aggre- 
gation, undertook to give a party at a West Hill home. Up- 
perclassmen bent on disrupting the peace of the freshmen 
arrived on the scene first. The freshmen as a precaution 
having decided to go in a body, a "mill" resulted in front of 
the home where the freshmen were to be guests. The one 
policeman on guard was peppered with flour, tied up in striped 
candy sacks. He turned in a riot call and forty reserve police 
responded in automobiles. Here we drop the curtain, but 
lift it again just long enough to admit the sight of five upper- 
classmen being dismissed from police court the next Monday 
morning by the mayor, himself a former Buchtel student with 
rather interesting college recollections of his own. He was 
heartily cheered on the city hall steps that morning. 

There are certain sources of inspiration for night-time en- 
deavors at Buchtel which have been responsible for a recur- 
rence in newer days of exploits similar to others which hap- 
pened in days of old. 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 367 

"The depravity of inanimate things" is no joke. For ex- 
ample, consider the suggestion to active collegiate minds con- 
veyed by the chapel furniture. In 1887 all the seats were re- 
moved from the chapel in the night and arranged on the 
campus. The following "Fable" evidently refers to that 
event : 

"This is the chapel window. It is a nice window. So are 
the boys nice, lliey are good-hearted, for they are helping the 
poor seats to escape from chapel so the Fac. can't sit on them. 
The Fac. should sit on the boys. It is only one o'clock so you 
see the boys are early birds, but they won't catch it, for the 
Prof, took it to fish with. These early birds have no wings, 
but they can fly when the Prof, gets after them. Losing the 
seats will be a sad blow, but we will have to 'stand it' until 
Loomis carries them back. You would think there was a fire 
by the way the furniture comes out of the window. There is no 
fire now, but there will be one when the Fac. misses the seats." 

The same exploit, with elaborate and modern trimmings, 
was achieved in the college year of 1909-10. The pulpit, 
platform, chairs, piano, and all the seats were set in regular 
chapel order on the space between the gymnasium and Buchtel 
Hall. From the biology rooms various stuffed animals were 
"borrowed." Little foxes and birds were scattered through 
the seats, a group being placed at the front to provide a choir. 
To complete the trimmings, streamers of paper were twined 
through the branches of the campus trees. The campus, when 
morning dawned, looked as though Christmas and circus day 
had collided in the midst of a college chapel session. 

The college observatory seems always to have inspired the 
student mind longing for new fields in which to express itself. 
The very night after ground was broken for the site, someone 
undid all the workmen had done through the day by care- 
fully filling up the hole. In 1887 in the night season the ob- 
servatory dome was subjected to treatment with white paint. 
In a later day, as students vividly recall, the professor in astron- 
omy was called from his home late one evening by excited 
class members who had seen a light in the sky and wanted to 



368 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

view through the telescope one of the balloons then engaging 
in a cross-country race. The professor obligingly dressed and 
rushed to the observatory. He took the first squint himself, 
then turned to the group of students and said, "That's no bal- 
loon; it's Mars." 

The use of burlesque pageantry as a protest against too 
drastic rules has been resorted to frequently. We have spoken 
of the way the students in 1 882 ridiculed the rule that young 
men and young women should not walk together without per- 
mission. Similar was the "cremation ceremony" of 1889, 
when that ancient foe to peace of mind, calculus, was burnt 
with solemn ritual. The class stone of '79 was used for the 
funeral pyre, and the ceremony was most impressive. A like 
occurrence belongs to the year '93 or '94, which saw the 
burial of the Junior Ex. These public exercises of essays and 
orations, which the faculty had required of the juniors for 
several years, had become so distasteful that the juniors de- 
cided to bury the hateful thing for all time. The faculty 
made no attempt to enforce the requirement after this public 
funeral. 

One of the most imposing shows of this kind was staged in 
the fall of 1907, to urge repeal of a newly-announced faculty 
order prescribing "safety first" football rules for students at 
Buchtel Academy. The men who were in the secret remained 
away from chapel on the day of the demonstration. As soon 
as the classes and faculty emerged from the gymnasium after 
chapel exercises, they found two "teams," the Willie-Boys 
and the Molly-Coddles, ready for a struggle on the plot of 
ground between the gymnasium and Buchtel Hall. But we 
shall let The Buchtel of '08 tell the rest of the story : 

"Friday, October eleventh, witnessed a very amusing sight. 
Between the Hall and Gymnasium a football game was pulled 
off that won't be forgotten for some time. The game was a 
take-off on certain rules adopted for the regulation of the pro- 
posed Academy team. None of the male students attended 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 369 

chapel and immediately after the young ladies were excused the 
game began. Nearly all wore derbies and were dressed in 
strictest form, the officials. Theron Jackson and Carl Diers, 
wearing dress suits. The ball, handled with gloves, which all 
wore, was kicked off by the Mollies. The play consisted of a 
series of gymnastics in etiquette and was carried out to the im- 
mense appreciation of the spectators. Penalties were inflicted 
generously. Ihe Willies lost a man for slapping a Molly-Coddle 
on the wrist, while it cost a team ten yards to fail to remove its 
hats collectively and individually at the proper times. The halves 
were live minutes long, and at the end of each the doctor, with 
a suit case full of saws, hammers, and other tools cared for the 
injured. Ihe first half ended with no score, but during the last 
half the Willie-Boys walked gracefully down the entire length of 
the field and, amid the stern resistance of waving hats and awful 
threats, scored a touchdown. Everyone seemed to enjoy the 
affair, and it was generally voted a success." 

One of the abiding things on the campus is the *80 rock. 
"Thereby hangs a tale." Students and faculty and even 
buildings may come and go, but that landmark remains. Se- 
curing the rock and putting it in place constituted no small 
feat, and of no other achievement of their college days are 
the members of the class of '80 so proud. 

The rock is a huge piece of syenite, containing ninety cubic 
feet. When the class had resolved thus to immortalize them- 
selves, they appointed one of their number, Irving Tomlinson, 
to negotiate for the purchase of the desired "pebble," which 
lay buried in a distant field belonging to Colonel Perkins. 
The Colonel did not want to sell; but Irving was persistent. 
The remainder of the story we quote from an article by C. B. 
Wright, '80, in The Buchtelite for December 15. 1898: 

"His interview with the owner was amusingly characteristic. 
To the request that we might have the rock to place upon the 
campus, the Colonel opposed his disbelief in our ability to move it. . 

" 'No one knows,* he declared, 'how far that stone goes down. 
I wanted it for my own lawn, but six yoke of oxen weren't able 
to budge it. You'll waste your time trying.' 

" 'But Colonel,' pleaded Irving, 'that was a good while ago 
and things have changed. The telephone has been invented, and 
lots else, and I think we can get it..' 



370 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

"The Colonel was dazed; he was not accustomed to contra- 
diction from youngsters, and certain that our efforts would be 
fruitless he gave us leave to try. Imposed with the magnitude 
of the work before us, we summoned a building mover to see 
what could be done. He repaired to the field, dug down till 
he had learned the depth to which the stone extended, and 
offered to put it in its destined place for $75, in advance. 

"Compound tackling was fastened in a neighboring oak and 
the stone drawn out upon the ground with comparatively little 
trouble. Our spokesman's boast was justified; the world had 
learned a thing or two since those oxen had tugged in vain. Then 
began the slow journey of the ponderous mass on the building 
trucks of the contractor. Several days were consumed in the 
transit. 

"When it reached the brow of the hill, beside the Perkins 
mansion, the venerable proprietor made a last effort to regain the 
rock that an error of judgment had allowed to slip from his 
possession. If we would relinquish our claim, he told us, and 
abandon the enterprise then and there, he would settle with the 
contractor and pay us $75 besides. We ought, I suppose, to 
have done it, but youth is reckless and I doubt whether twice 
that sum would have offered any temptation." 

Within Buchters classrooms, times without number, jokes 
have been played and humorous incidents have occurred, in 
which professor and student have had equal interest; and it 
has not always been the student who has scored off the 
instructor. 

On March 4, 1 879, the College had a fire — not so serious 
as it at first looked — ^which damaged principally the dome of 
the building. An unruffled professor conducting a class at 
the time was amazed that his class should rush from the room 
when the alarm was given that the top of the building was 
ablaze. 

"If you will go, go!" he called disgustedly after the de- 
parting class, and then proceeded to post on the bulletin 
board this notice: 

"Recitation room 13 being intact and as good as ever, I 
expect to hear my class at 4 o'clock today as usual." 

The following anecdote has been in print many times, but 
it is directly accredited to a Buchtel class by an Akron news- 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 371 

paper-clipping of January 1 , 1 882. One of the professors, on 
entering his room for class, found the legend on the black- 
board: "Our professor is a ,'* and then a large drawing 

of a donkey. Surveying the students with twinkling eyes, the 
professor turned to the board and wrote just beneath the 
picture the final word "driver." He dusted the chalk from 
his hands while the meaning went home to the students, and 
then proceeded to hear one of the gloomiest recitations of the 
term. 

There is another donkey story worth telling. In one of 
Doctor Claypole's anatomy classes, when the time came to 
work on skeletons Belle Green and Willet Hardin mounted 
the skeleton of a donkey. This donkey, one of a pair kept 
by Judge Green as pets for his children, had died the year 
before, and the ground where it was buried had disintegrated 
the tail bones, with the result that the mounted skeleton had 
no tail. While Burton D. Myers was at his home in Attica 
during the senior vacation a mule very accommodatingly died, 
and Mr. Myers secured the tail bones and brought them to 
Miss Green. That Commencement, Doctor Claypole, as was 
his custom, prepared an exhibition of the work of his classes. 
On the placard marking the donkey was this inscription: 
"Mounted by Miss Green and Mr. Hardin, and re-tailed by 
B. D. Myers." 

There are stories of the presidents, too, as well as of the 
professors. President Cone was a very polished gentleman; 
anything not strictly in accordance with the customs of polite 
society annoyed him. Many of the boys were in the habit 
of coming into chapel with their hands in their pockets; so 
one morning he remarked that if they felt it necessary to do 
so in order to keep their hands warm, he would prefer that 
they wear gloves. The following morning the boys' seats were 
empty and the faculty and the girls sat in breathless anxiety, 
wondering what was about to happen. Soon the tramp of 



372 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

marshalled hosts was heard in East Hall, and the procession 
appeared with Will Sawyer at the head, each boy wearing 
gloves — in most cases white ones. 

Probably more stories are told of Professor Bates than of 
any other Buchtel instructor. It was but natural that a per- 
sonality so positive, so unusual, and so eccentric as his should 
become the center of a host of episodes and stories. Mrs. 
Mary Andrews Connor, '96, writes : 

"The name of Professor Bates always suggests onions and 
'Who dragged whom around the walls of what?' The student 
who was not initiated into the joy of that mystery never 'got 
on' with Professor Bates. When every pupil in the big class of 
Freshmen was given a question and told to answer it as soon as 
he could, and everybody was talking at once, and the Professor 
ynih stentorian voice would call out to some poor 'freshie,* al- 
most frightened to death, to 'go to the board and make a picture 
to show what you mean' — then Professor Bates was in his ele- 
ment and class work was progressing. The person who did not 
learn concentration under this method would never learn it. Even 
though ten or a dozen pupils were answering questions at the 
same time. Professor Bates heard everything that was being said, 
and soon tripped and made feel very silly the fellow who at- 
tempted to get smart. 

"Among many incidents of Professor Bates, one I remember 
particularly. One Saturday morning some of us were doing the 
endless tasks in connection with Professor Claypole's assignment. 
We had been dissecting rabbits of six or more weeks' stages of 
decay. Strict orders had been left to keep closed the door to 
the room where the boiling process was emitting odors which 
rivaled any witches' caldron. Going out in the hall, I found 
the door open, and hastening to close it, exclaimed, 'Goodness 
alive!' Instantly from the first floor, eight long flights of steps 
below, was heard that familiar approach of three steps at a 
leap. When he reached the top floor Professor Bates, in as- 
sumed excitement, called, 'Where? where? Miss A .' 

Not seeing the comprehensive look on my face, with a twinkle 
in his eyes, he said, 'I rushed up to see Goodness Alive, as I 
had never met the creature, and decided it must be the latest 
product from the natural science laboratory.' " 

W. W. Howe, '91, tells the following: 

"I shall never forget one amusing incident in a certain after- 
noon class of these bygone days. Occasionally Mr. St. John 
received a suggestion from the professor, as in fact we all did at 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 373 

times. Mr. St. John had the habit on these occasions of smiling 
blandly and saying. 'AH right. Professor.* One day Professor 
Bates, after hearing this remark from Mr. St. John, observed in 
a rather loud voice, *Mr. St. John, I wish you wouldn't say 
"AH right" to everything I say.' 'All right, I won't,' rejoined 
the imperturbable St. John, to the great delight of everyone, in- 
cluding Professor Bates himself, whose reserve was broken for 
the time being." 

It is said that somewhere in the college archives is a letter 
written by Professor Bates to rebuke a young lady whose 
devotion to the pastime of chewing gum exasperated him. Ac- 
companying the letter was a bag of peanuts. This is what the 
professor wrote: 

"Miss W : 



"That the accompanying leguminous specimens may prove an 
agreeable substitute for the viscid, arboreous secretions ordinarily 
employed as an indispensable motive power of female maxillary 
machinery, is my ardent desire." 

"(Signed) B." 

Joseph H. James, '94, is authority for the following: 

"At the time of the installation of the chemical laboratory in 
the east-end basement of the old college building, such ventilation 
methods as we now enjoy were unknown. Fumes from the 
various experiments were wafted along the corridors and up broad 
stairways, often to recitation rooms on upper floors. I well re- 
member one occasion when, as Doctor Knight's youthful assistant, 
I was responsible for a particularly bad odor from some chemical 
experiment. No sooner had it reached the rooms of the Latin 
department above than Professor Bates stalked in, thundering, 
'Young man, if you continue this much longer, we shall not go up 
in a balloon, but as a balloon.* " 

A typical recitation method of this unique professor was 

something like this: 

"Miss Blank, you may begin. That wiH do: next. What 
kind of a what is the what of the what? — next — next — next — 
next — good! We have it! Next: before what time, in what 
time, and at what time, were the Odes written and who ruled in 
Rome fourteen years before? Next! " 

Willard Holcomb, '89, confesses to have written the fol- 
lowing Ode to Bates. It was composed for the Everett Lit- 
erary Society Journal, and was read before the Society. 



374 FIFTY Y E ARS OF B U CHTEL 

"A Freshman Poet's 'Ode to Bates* 

"O! tall majestic cuss 
With gaunt, slim form rigged out in black, 

Of thee I sing! 

How many years 't has been 
Since thou wert ushered in — 
To this here world, or since thy moustache 'gan to sprout, 

I do not know. 
Why thou dost walk along with head in air 
And 'steen foot strides, as though for common men thou did 

N't give a durn; 
Or why thou eatest onions 'till, 
They say, the paper in thy room 

Is sprouting sets; 
Or why thou bang'st thy old pian- 
O, playing 'Falling Leaves' 'till late at night, 

I give it up! 

I on'y know thou art a ter- 
Ror in the class, and prone to ask such questions as, 
'What is the which of the what?' 

Et Cetera. 

Which makes me think, I've got a recita- 
Tion in an hour. 
So I guess I'll stop writing poetry and get my Latin 

Prose Composition." 

Mr. Holcomb adds: 

"The joke was not in the 'blankety -blank verse' so much as 
in the fact that in seme way Professor Bates acquired a copy of 
the Ode, and was reported to have enjoyed it even more than 
did the boys of the Society. Therefore I remember most grate- 
fully his grim sense of humor, while he was grinding into our 
systems a very good grade of Latin so it stuck. He was the 
on'y classical professor I ever knew who could appreciate a joke 
dated anywhere A. D." 

The list of Buchtel anecdote is legion. Tar on a horizontal 
bar in the gymnasium trapped the unwary in 1874. Students 
of the late seventies remember a night when an unfortunate 
who went out on the fire-escape to pull up contraband edibles 
from below was locked out at all the windows, with only his 
night clothing to protect him from the winter wind until they 
let him in again. There's a tale of a rock that went down the 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 375 

Stairs of the old building in the middle of one night, a geological 
specimen of such proportions that the first floor railing was 
broken, as well as the sleep of the inmates of the college. 

A member of the class of '84 is authority for the story of 
how that class started with fifteen members, dwindled to three 
in its senior year, those three not friends, and of how two of 
the three announced an intention of not being graduated. The 
third styled himself "the class," planted his own class tree, 
buried his cap and gown at its foot, and fired off one big fire- 
cracker — and two little ones in memory of his late classmates. 

It is on record that in 1888 something happened to the 
chapel piano. Singers starting bravely out upon the swelling 
billows of a hymn suddenly found they had no accompani- 
ment, and voices quavered and died. The pink-faced pianist 
made investigation. The "innards" of the piano were missing. 
The hammer mechanism had been removed. Between 1900 
and 1910 there was a morning to be remembered, when a 
lecture on discipline was interrupted by an alarm clock ringing 
from the highest gymnasium rafter above the chapel platform, 
an intermittent alarm that prevented the lecture's ever being 
completed. 

They run through every year, these Buchtel happenings. 

Useless it would be to attempt to present a completely 
chronological table. The effort here, because of obvious limi- 
tations, is to tell the typical and note the epochal, catching at 
the spirit of the successive times through which the story moves. 
The mind of every Buchtel student, of whatever day, will 
fill in with richer detail and with recollections by the score, 
the shadowy spaces between the happenings here specifically 
set down as part of the college history. The reminiscent mind 
will recall incident after incident from the time when warm 
apple pies were purloined from the pastry kitchen of the old 
college, to the most recent exploit of the new college day. 



376 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

The gold thread of tradition twines through the tapestry 
from the beginning. When today's edge of the fabric is 
reached, there the gold thread hangs, ready to be woven into 
the story of tomorrow. The silver background of scholastic 
attainment has not been forgotten, as was promised in the 
beginning it would not be. Perhaps the brighter colors are 
incidental. Yet, while the background gives the fabric its 
worth, perhaps it is partly because of the winding gold thread 
and the brighter splashes, taken together with the background 
as a whole, that memory reserves its very throne room for the 
tapestry of college times. 



TRADITIONS AND FUN 377 



DEAR OLD BUCHTEL 

(From the Buchteliie for June. 1910) 
Author unknown 

Here the moonlight falls the softest, 
On "Old Buchtel." 
Sweet June days come the oftest. 
Round "Old Buchtel." 
Friendships are the strongest. 
Love's light glows the longest. 
Yet wrongs are always wrongest. 
At "Old Buchtel." 

Here the sunshine's ever brightest, 
On "Our Buchtel." 
The breezes whisper lightest. 
Round "Our Buchtel." 
Plain girls are the fewest. 
Maidens' eyes the bluest. 
Their little hearts beat truest. 
At "Our Buchtel." 



CHAPTER XIX 

BUCHTEL IN THE GREAT WAR 
I 

THE WORK OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY 

THE cessation of hostilities in Europe on November 1 1 , 
1918, brought to a close a period most vital to the 
American college. Although the duration of our own 
participation in the war was only a little more than a year and 
a half, within this brief period practically all colleges had 
undergone a complete process of reconstruction for war ends, 
and while the work of a smaller institution can never assume 
the imposing proportions of the efforts witnessed at the great 
universities, yet it is safe to say that every faculty member 
and student, in fact every employe of the University of Akron, 
did his or her part in some type of war work. An effort is 
made here to summarize for permanent record our college war 
activities for the entire period. 

First place in such a record rightly belongs to the men who 
left college to enter some form of government service, in most 
cases the Army or Navy. The total number of students of 
this class is ninety-eight, while 255 college men enlisted in the 
Student's Army Training Corps and were ready for the call 
when peace came. Of the students in the Service at least 
twenty-five won commissions, and many of the rest attained the 
rank of non-commissioned officers. 

Six members of the faculty responded to the call, in addi- 
tion to those who rendered various kinds of service without 
surrendering their active connections with the University. 

It would be impossible to mention all the important pieces 
of service done by graduates and former students. The high- 
est ranking officer whom Buchtel may claim is Brigadier-Gen- 



THE GREAT WAR 379 

eral William S. Scott, a student during the years 1875 and 
1876. Among the women, conspicuous service was rendered 
by Miss Mary E. Gladwin of the Class of '87, who held im- 
portant positions as a Red Cross Nurse in Belgrade and later 
in Saloniki, serving during the entire four years of the war. 

To those who gave up their lives in the struggle is reserved 
the place of highest honor in the regard of their fellow students 
and alumni. On the field of battle in France fell two men 
whom their Alma Mater will ever hold in memory: Lieutenant 
Thomas J. Quayle, '08, and Private Thomas B. Welker, 
'21. Not less admirable is the supreme sacrifice for country 
of Henry Laube, Roy J. Bohl, Bernard Adler, and Lee 
Pitzer, members of the S. A. T. C. who succumbed to in- 
fluenza, and Leroy Myers, a former student, who gave his 
life in the same way. The University is proud to claim these 
men as her own and to perpetuate their memory. 

The women of the University were no less active in the 
war service than the men. They worked long hours at Red 
Cross headquarters and at the Red Cross Shop. They con- 
tributed their cars and their time to the Motor Service Corps. 
They helped by sewing, by knitting, and by work in the 
various war campaigns. Some even took their lives in their 
hands and acted as nurses at the municipal hospital established 
during the influenza epidemic. The school is justly proud of 
its women and their achievements. 

On October 1, 1918, a unit of the Students' Army Train- 
ing Corps was installed at the University. During the pre- 
ceding spring and summer, the University had already estab- 
lished a school for drafted men under the authority of the 
Committee on Education and Special Training of the War 
Department in order to train tire repair men and vulcanizers 
for the service of the Army. In all, some 500 men were thus 
trained, the unit strength being 1 00 men and the training period 
one month. The men were quartered in Crouse Gymnasium 



380 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



and a temporary mess hall was built on the campus. After 
October 1, the vocational unit became the B Section of the 
S. A. T. C, and the collegiate unit became the A Section. 
A total of 255 men were enrolled in the A Section, making 
a grand total, with men held over, of nearly 400 men. These 
were quartered in a rented two-story building of brick and re- 
inforced concrete, located near the campus. The following 
officers were in charge: Captain A. E. Aub (later trans- 
ferred) ; Captain Earl Welsher ; Lieutenant Charles Gottlieb 
(surgeon) ; Lieutenant R. B. Church (dentist) ; Lieutenant 
E. B. Hurrell (quartermaster); Lieutenant Kenneth Briggs; 
Lieutenant E. T. Morris; Lieutenant William Benua. 

The S. A. T. C. was mustered out during December, 1918, 
and regular college work was resumed in January, 1919. 

Naturally the war service of the University itself has cen- 
tered largely in the work of its various departments. During 
the S. A. T. C. period, courses for special war purposes were 
given under the direction of the War Department. In this 
way the department of chemistry conducted an intensive course 
in preparation for the Chemical Warfare Service; the depart- 
ment of biology, with the co-operation of Professor Hopkins 
of the Kent State Normal College, gave a course in military 
hygiene ; the engineering college gave a course in surveying and 
map making; and courses in military law, map reading and 
navigation, etc., were in preparation by other departments. 
Most interesting was the so-called War Issues Course, given 
under the direction of Doctor H. S. MacAyeal with the 
co-operation of the departments of history and social sciences. 
This was required of all S. A. T. C. men and was offered for 
the purpose of clarifying for the prospective soldiers the issues 
of the war and thus improving the morale of the Army. 

Notable war service was rendered by the engineering col- 
lege. Early in the period of the war it was selected, by the 
War Department, as one of the schools for the establishment 



THEGREATWAR 381 

of an Engineer Reserve Corps, and this Corps was later ex- 
tended to include students in the departments of chemistry and 
physics in the college of liberal arts. When the government 
school for vulcanizers and tire repair men was established in 
the spring of 1918, the supervision of class work on the co- 
operative plan was taken over by the engineering college, and 
more than 500 men were trained for the Service under its 
auspices, in co-operation with the leading rubber factories of 
the city, who generously provided space, instructors, and ma- 
terial. A further recognition of the co-operative idea was 
given when Dean Ayer of the engineering college was sum- 
moned to Philadelphia to install a training system in one of 
the government aircraft production plants in that city. 

In conjunction with the Akron Automobile Club, the de- 
partment of mechanical engineering conducted a course for 
automobile repair men. Lecturers and instructors were drawn 
from the faculty of the engineering college and from local 
garages and served without pay. Equipment for demonstra- 
tion purposes was loaned by the garages and brought to the 
engineering college where all lectures were given. The prac- 
tice work was arranged and supervised by the department of 
mechanical engineering with the full co-operation of the Akron 
Automobile Club. Twenty-five men completed the course. 
Evening courses given by the engineering college in Strength 
of Materials and Gas Engines were attended by students from 
the design departments of companies producing war munitions 
and by students from the U. S. Naval Aeronautical Corps. 
In addition, free use was made by a number of Akron com- 
panies engaged in war work of the machines in the testing lab- 
oratory of the engineering college. 

The work of the department of chemistry in offering special 
courses in preparation for the Chemical Warfare Service has 
already been mentioned. During the fall of 1918, the U. S. 
Bureau of Standards established in the Knight Chemical Lab- 



382 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

oratory a branch laboratory for the testing of rubber tires 
bought by the Government on specification in the Akron dis- 
trict and the territory west of Akron, amounting to about 70 
per cent of all tire purchases by the Government. This govern- 
ment laboratory was in charge of a former student of Buchtel 
College, Mr. Arnold Smith. At least twelve graduates of 
the course in chemistry were employed in war service as 
chemists. 

The classes of the night college were to a certain extent 
directed toward war purposes. The participation of the engi- 
neering college has already been mentioned. In addition, the 
classes in modern languages were especially adapted to the 
needs of the period, and a course in French for drafted men 
was carried on for three months with an enrollment of forty 
students. Of particular importance was the instruction in radio 
and buzzer work given for nearly two years in preparation for 
the Signal Corps, using instruments and equipment furnished by 
the Government. During the entire period about 200 men 
were enrolled and of these more than 100 were given cer- 
tificates of proficiency. 

The Curtis School of Home Economics was, by the nature 
of its work, given unusual opportunity to serve. During the 
first national campaign for food conservation, a week's test 
was given with a "diet squad" to prove the possibilities of 
conservation and substitution, and to lend added publicity to 
the movement. Innumerable canning demonstrations and food 
conservation lectures were given by the instructors, and some 
extension teaching was done by the students of the department. 
Courses outlined by the Food Administration were given to 
students as a regular part of the curriculum and much in- 
dividual effort was expended in various sorts of committee and 
campaign service by teachers and students during the war 
period. 



THE GREAT WAR 383 

In co-operation with the CiviHan ReHef Committee of the 
Red Cross and with the Charity Organization Society, the 
department of social sciences offered during the spring of 1918 
a training course to prepare volunteer workers for home service 
in the families of soldiers and sailors. In addition to attendance 
at twenty lectures by competent authorities, there was required 
a certain amount of outside reading and thirty-two hours of 
field work under the supervision of the Charity Organization 
Society. Twenty persons were enrolled in the course. 

Conspicuous service was rendered by the department of 
physical training in the organization of military drill. Drill 
was first organized in the spring of 1917 under the direction 
of Professor George Bennett on a voluntary basis. In the fall 
of 1917, drill was made compulsory for every man in college 
and its direction was assumed by the physical director, Mr. 
Fred Sefton, who carried it on during the entire school year 
1917-18. About seventy men were under training in the 
spring of 1917 and 1 50 men during the following school year. 
The student battalion reached a good grade of proficiency and, 
as a unit of the Home Guards, helped in the guarding of the 
Kent dam during 1917-18. During the summer of 1918, the 
physical director and eight members of the battalion were 
selected to attend the Government training camp at Fort Sheri- 
dan, Illinois, and all were tendered commissions as officers 
at the end of the eight weeks' course. An important service 
performed by certain students of the battalion was the drill 
instruction given by them to several hundred drafted men dur- 
ing the years 1917 and 1918. In the fall of 1918. the bat- 
talion was absorbed into the S. A. T. C. 

A number of other departments deserve special mention for 
war activities: the English department co-ordinated its work 
closely with that of the course in war aims; the classical de- 
partment supervised thesis work on important economic and 
military problems and had in preparation a course in military 



384 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

law; the history department offered a course in current events 
since 1916 and modified other courses with a view to special 
study of conditions since 1870; the library raised a fund of 
$120.75 for the American Library Association to furnish 
books for soldiers and sailors, collected over 500 volumes itself 
for the same purpose, and assisted in the food conservation 
work; the mathematics department gave preparation for men 
entering such branches of the service as coast and heavy ar- 
tillery; thus every division of the University contributed its 
share toward the winning of the war. 

An interesting point of contact with our allies has been 
established at the University through the residence here as 
a student since October, 1918, of Miss Marie Louise Cheval 
of Paris, France. Miss Cheval is one of the French women 
brought to this country as students by the Association of Amer- 
ican Colleges and the American Council on Education, work- 
ing with the French Government. She holds a scholarship 
given by the Directors of the University, and her living ex- 
penses are borne by the Women's Council of Akron. 

In a summary of this sort the personal work of faculty 
members is not unimportant. Investigation shows that mem- 
bers of the teaching staff engaged in the following activities: 
sold liberty bonds and war savings stamps; campaigned for 
the war chest; did Red Cross Work; assisted with question- 
naires ; cultivated war gardens ; acted as "Four Minute Men" ; 
served in Home Guards; did special educational work, and 
served on food, fuel, and other special committees; all pur- 
chased liberty bonds and contributed to the war chest. 

Especial mention should be made of the service of Dean 
F. E. Ayer and F. H. Nestelle in assuming entire charge of 
the housing and feeding of the student soldiers, the untiring 
work of Secretary C. R. Olin in handling the financial affairs 
of the S. A. T. C, and Dean A. I, Spanton's wise adminis- 



THEGREATWAR 385 

tration of the University's affairs during the absence of Presi- 
dent Kolbe on war service in Washington from March to 
June, 1918. 

II 
LIFE IN THE S. A. T. C. 

As in all previous national crises, the college men of the 
country came to the front in the late world war and did their 
bit. Enlistments were heavy from the beginning, many going 
to the First Officers' Training Camps and into the ranks. The 
number leaving college for the service increased proportionately 
in 1918 with the regular operation of the draft and the de- 
velopment of the great American army. The situation was 
such that, with the lowering of the age limit to eighteen in 
August of that year, the very life of the colleges was at 
stake. 

Realizing the need of trained men, the War Department, 
in connection with the Bureau of Education, set about devis- 
ing means to avoid the suspension of college education, which 
would be the inevitable outcome in the ordinary course of 
events. In this work the University of Akron was signally 
honored by having its President, Doctor Kolbe, called to 
Washington for special work with the Bureau of Education. 
Two things were to be avoided: the creation of any specially 
privileged class, and the hindering in any way of the Govern- 
ment's program of ending the war as speedily as possible. 
The Students* Army Training Corps was the result. 

Under the S. A. T. C. plan the college student was "vol- 
untarily inducted" into the service and assigned to inactive 
duty at school. He was allowed to choose the branch of 
service he preferred to enter, and the course taken varied ac- 
cordingly. The whole schedule was arranged on the assump- 
tion that all men of twenty would be called to active service 



386 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

before January 1 , 1919, and other ages at corresponding times. 
Special attention was paid to the technical courses and their 
application to war needs. In addition, a course in the War 
Aims of the United States was required of all. Thus it is 
seen the aim of the corps was to maintain a reserve of skilled 
technical men who were trained and efficient soldiers as well. 
The men received the rating and pay of a private, tuition and 
incidentals, and it was left to them to show whether they were 
fitted to enter an Officers' Training Camp, or some special 
technical service such as Chemical Warfare, or merely to re- 
main as privates. Regular draft men were included in the 
corps under the vocational training section. Akron being the 
rubber center of the world, and the University of Akron the 
foremost and, up to a short time ago, the only educational 
institution offering a special course in the chemistry of rubber, 
it was only natural that our vocational section should be a tire 
repair "outfit," as they call it in the army. So much for 
S. A. T. C. in general. Now as to the Akron University unit 
in particular. 

Our unit consisted of three companies, two collegiate and 
one vocational. From the very first we had the best of equip- 
ment. Our barracks were the equal of any in the state for 
comfort and sanitation. Uniforms and other equipment were 
all issued in due time, and everything was done for the well- 
being of the men. S. A. T. C. was formally inaugurated 
October I, 1918, at 1 1 :00 A. M. From that time military 
discipline was strictly enforced. First call at 5 :45 A. M. and 
Taps at 10:00 P. M. were new hours entirely to the college 
man. Dances, theater parties, and nights with the boys were 
no more; but the college man didn't kick; in the true Buchtel 
spirit he hit hard the work before him. The knockers were 
found among those who went to college for S. A. T. C. only, 
men who really cared nothing for a college education. To 



THE GREAT WAR 387 

give some idea of the intensive training, here is our daily 
schedule : 

First call. 5:45 A. M.; Reveille. 6:00; Mess. 6:25; Drill. 
7:00-9:00; School, 9:20-12:00; Mess; School or study. 1 :00 
-4:00 P. M.; Recreation (drill, physical exercise, and games), 
4:30-5:30; Retreat, 6:00; Mess; Study, 7:00-9:00; Leisure 
(in which time you could wash and mend clothes, clean rifles, 
write to the "girl you left behind," go to the "Y," etc. Aside 
from that, nothing to do.) 9:00-9:45; Recall. 9:45; Taps, 
10:00 P. M. Saturday afternoons, after inspection, were given 
over to inter-company contests. Sundays we usually had hikes 
into the neighboring country. 

But in spite of the strenuous schedule we found time for fun 
and college pranks. Many ridiculous mistakes were made by 
the "rookies." The forms of reporting were many. Private 
Mahoney, for instance, entered the orderly room, smiling, 
swinging hat in hand, failed to salute, and said, "I heard you 
wanted to see me." Guard duty furnished a multitude of 
chances for mistakes. One Company B guard obeyed orders 
to the letter and refused to let a "cop" loiter on the post long 
enough to "ring in." Efficiency? I should say so! 

Rumor, as everywhere in the army, had its place in S. A. 
T. C. The Ladies' Aid Society didn't have a thing on it. 
"Official" information was handy on all topics. Private Fox 
being the leading dispenser of news, although he had several 
rivals who were close seconds. "Straight from Fox," was 
a by-word when such information as news that we were to be 
issued sandals to go to Egypt was flying around. 

Hallowe'en received appropriate recognition. The gang 
got wild, and Private Simmons found his blankets, mattress, 
etc., "somewhere in the barracks" — it's hard telling where. 
But the big celebration came the night that a new bunch of 
"rookies" came in after quarantine. The welcome they re- 
ceived was a mixture of warm and cold water alternately. 
The initiation continued into the small hours. A good many 
thought they had joined the navy by the way their bunks 



388 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

rolled. Before taps a few had an introduction to the showers, 
both within the barracks and outside, and the cots accom- 
panied them outside in some instances. The college Walling- 
fords got busy also and reaped a good harvest for "bunk fees" 
and floor spaces. 

But not all jokes were on the men. One night Lieutenant 
Briggs, being O. D., was taking bunk checks. He came to 
an empty cot. By the light of a match he read the name, 
"George Bunk." "George Bunk" was accordingly reported 
A. W. O. L. The C. O. was puzzled. The company roster 
revealed no such name. He went upstairs to get the army 
serial number from the tag, and imagine his surprise when he 
found none, and only an empty cot. The truth of the matter 
was that there were several empty cots which the men used 
to pile overcoats on and called "George's Bunk." Someone 
had made out a bunk tag with this name which the O. D. 
had hastily read as "George Bunk," "George" suffered 
court-martial and was removed. 

Company contests were in order every Saturday afternoon 
after inspection. The companies were well-matched, and the 
games of baseball, cage ball, football, and other sports were 
hotly contested. Company rivalry was fostered in drill, calis- 
thenics, and play, and did much to maintain interest. In 
this the companies were ably led by their commanders. 

Two other organizations resulting from barracks life were 
the band and the orchestra. The very first night saw a 
number of violins, mandolins, and cornets appear, and soon 
an orchestra, consisting of piano, three first violins, cello, three 
cornets, three trombones, and traps was organized and ready 
to furnish music for all occasions. The orchestra did a great 
deal to liven up the time of the quarantine period. The band 
was not so well known. It was really just getting into form 
when peace came. 



THE GREAT WAR 389 

The following, by a member of the band, expresses the 
facts of the case: 

Our Band 

There's something as rare as a day in June — 
It's an army band that can play in tune. 
When an army band can keep in time 
With an army battalion, they're doing fine. 

Our illustrious band — it numbers eleven; 
The music we play reminds you of heaven; 
Sure, we've a tuba, and everything; 
Those that can't play — well, they just sing. 

We go on the march with a lot of pep. 

But for some reason we get out of step. 

Our music reminds you much of jazz, 

For our drum gets flat — with the rest of the brass. 

We play "um-ta" when it plays "ta-um," 
TTie army yells out, "The music is bum." 
But what can we do? We do our best. 
If you don't like the notes, we'll play the rest. 

D. M.. "A" Co. 

Any account of our S. A. T. C. life would be incomplete 
without mention of the excellent work of the Y. M, C. A. 
Without Mr. Larrick and Miss Karnaghan the quarantine 
days would have been unbearable. Did anyone want shoes, 
word from Ma or Pa, or something from home? The Secre- 
tary saw that he was helped out. The "Y" gave us many 
interesting and helpful entertainments. Motion pictures on 
Saturday or Sunday evenings were in order, and the boys 
surely did enjoy them. In one picture, where a soldier was 
giving his sweetheart the last, long, lingering kiss, a voice in 
the audience bawled out, "Take distance — MARCH!" 
Good officer material — heartless all over! 

The "flu" epidemic dampened the spirit of the men during 
the last days of S. A. T. C. The unit had been under abso- 
lute quarantine from the time of organization to November 1 6, 



390 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



but SO efficient had been the measures taken to cope with the 
disease that we had not a single case during the period of 
quarantine. It was at Thanksgiving that the "flu** struck 
us, a time when all the men had twenty-four-hour passes. 
Coming just prior to the disbanding of the S. A. T. C, it 
was especially to be regretted. The men living in Akron 
were allowed to go to their homes, reporting only for forma- 
tions. A few volunteered for hospital duty and assisted in 
the care of their less fortunate comrades. Fortunately the 
death rate was kept exceedingly low. Four men died : Privates 
Roy Bohl, Herman Laube, Lee Pitzer, and Bernard Adler. 
Great credit is due our surgeon. Lieutenant Gottlieb, for the 
splendid medical record of the unit, a record entirely due to 
his unremitting care and attention. Demobilization was rushed 
and was practically complete December 21, 1918. 

What did the unit accomplish? Was the S. A. T. C. a 
success? There seems to be a prevalent idea that the S. A. 
T. C. was something of a failure. Perhaps it was. In many 
instances undoubtedly it was, especially at the large universi- 
ties. The writer has had the privilege of discussing this with 
army officers and with both students and faculty from other 
schools, and is convinced that one big cause for failure was 
the lack of co-operation between the military and collegiate 
authorities. This happily was not the case at Akron Univer- 
sity. The Akron unit was especially fortunate in the per- 
sonnel of officers. Captain Welsher, the Commandant, an 
experienced army man, was universally respected; the men 
would do anything for him. With him at the head, success 
was assured. Moreover, our college authorities handled their 
part of the task in their usual efficient manner. The result 
was that everything seemed to go harmoniously. 

Like every other new plan, the S. A. T. C. had its imper- 
fections. Facilities for study were not of the best to get the 
most out of the classroom work. The main cause of failure 



THE GREAT WAR 391 

in this respect was in the men themselves, and no doubt it 
would have been corrected in time by their coming to realize 
that to succeed meant to work. Some effects of the S. A. 
T. C. were decidedly good. Lessons of discipline and self- 
control were taught, which are bound to influence the future 
lives of the men in civic affairs. Physically the men were un- 
doubtedly better off for the training; regular hours and sys- 
tematic drill could not help having a beneficial effect. As to 
its value as a military machine, no estimate can be given, for 
it barely had a start. The truth is that the entire plan had a 
powerful combination against it in the form of circumstances. 
The unsettled conditions resulting from the "flu" epidemic, 
together with the unexpected end of the war, really gave no 
chance for any adequate testing of the worth of the organiza- 
tion. In view of all the conditions of the S. A. T. C. period, 
it is perfectly safe to say that the S. A. T. C. at Akron 
University was a success. 

Ill 
Among Buchtel students — whether undergraduate or alumni 
— who served overseas during the Great War, none did more 
significant service than Miss Mary Gladwin, *87, of the Red 
Cross. As suggestive of the actual horrors of war experienced 
by those who went to the front, we supplement Mr. Osborne's 
account of the S. A. T. C. with a letter written by Miss Glad- 
win to President Kolbe and published in The Alumni Quar- 
ierly in the summer of 1915: 

"The American Hospital, 
Belgrade. Serbia. May 25. 1915. 
"My dear Dr. Kolbe: 

"The hospital gardener sent me a bunch of pink roses, and 
immediately, although my eyes looked out over the waters of the 
Saure and the Danube, and with Zemlin just across, my mind 
saw old Buchtel and the scene of the roses brought back gradua- 
tion days of the past. 

"My plans for last year were all for naught, as were the plans 
of many hundreds of earth't people. Last June I felt that at 



392 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

last I was in a position to take an active interest in the Alumni 
Association, and was very pleased to be on several committees, 
and then I meant to work for my Master's degree. The work 
was to have been in history and sociology. History and sociology 
— well, I have seen history made and have learned more sociology 
than the books teach. 

"Although we proudly fly the American flag, and Austria 
has promised to regard the hospital grounds as neutral territory 
and has made every efi^ort to keep her promise, our position is 
such that Austrian shells burst about us on most days. Most of 
the time the French aviators fly over us, bringing, as a matter of 
course, the Austrian fire. The other day a French and an 
Austrian machine met directly over us, and we heard and saw 
a small battle in the air. For months we were under bombard- 
ment; many a night I have gone to sleep watching that flash of 
the guns reflected on my walls and listening for the report. It 
became so much a matter of course that it was only when the 
firing ceased that we noticed anything unusual. 

"The Serbians evacuated Belgrade in the night, and during 
the two or three days before the coming of the Austrians the 
whole place shook with the terrific thunder of the French guns 
using up their ammunition so that it would not fall into the hands 
of the enemy. Then the coming of the Austrians. Ihey seemed 
in number like the sands of the sea as they marched and rode 
down the street past the hospital. After a few days the wounded 
began to come; at first dozens, then by the hundred, then by the 
thousand. The beds were soon all filled, three men in a bed; 
wounded under the tables and in every corner. There was very 
soon only a narrow lane down our broad hospital corridors. We 
literally walked over the dead and the dying. Men begged and 
prayed for help and waited hours for even a drink of water. A 
university graduate lay three days outside the ofiice door, badly 
wounded, hungry and thirsty, but chiefly distressed because for 
seven weeks he hadn't been able to wash his hands. He remained 
on the floor three days before being started across the river, 
and his hands were still unwashed. 

"At two o'clock one morning, when we had been doing dress- 
ings for thirty-six hours without stopping, one of the doctors came 
to me with: 'If I should pour cold water over cofi^ee could a man 
drink it?' He had a man on the table who, wounded, had 
lain in the woods a week, or nine days to be exact, shot through 
the chest, with neither food nor drink, and with frozen feet. I 
shall always be glad to remember that I took time to do an un- 
necessary thing — to make him a cup of coffee over an alcohol 
lamp — and that somebody fed it to him a teaspoonful at a time. 

"We were told, 'The war in Serbia is over; there is nothing 
left but the shouting.' Then one day we heard firing in th«? 



THEGREATWAR 393 

distance; it continued, growing nearer and louder for four days, 
and then, from every window, we saw the Austrians in retreat, 
saw part of the last battle, and the next day the Serbians were 
again in possession of the city. Since then the bombardment 
has been spasmodic. For example, after several weeks of quiet. 
Sir Thomas Lipton being here, a dinner was planned for him; 
two messengers were sent out with the invitations; one was 
wounded, the other killed, and about eighty other people killed 
when the firing suddenly reopened. 

"The nurses have been ordered to start for the hospital when- 
ever firing starts. Hurrying homeward one day, they met a man 
of their acquaintance, who laughed, saying they were as safe 
on the street as anywhere. After they had passed him about 
twenty yards they heard a shell very near, looked back, and saw 
that their acquaintance had been killed. 

"In addition to all the horrors of war, we have known what 
it means to be both cold and hungry, and — worse still — we are 
just at the finish of a typhus epidemic. The chief of our mission. 
Dr. Ryan, and four of my nurses are now convalescing from 
that disease. 

"Sincerely yours, 

"Mary E. Gladwin." 



394 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



THE REFUGEES 

(This poem Was written by David Darrah, '17, while with the Mallet 
Reserve, a fighting unit in the motor transport service in France.) 

Yellow flowers 

And greening trees 
Skirt the roads 

Where the refugees 
Flee from the wrath 

Of the coming Hun; 
Fields deserted 

'Ere growing's begun. 

Almost hidden 

In dirt and dust. 
Leaving their homes 

Because they must. 
Women in black 

For sons they lost — 
Ah, war is waged 

At a terrible cost! 

In high ox-carts 

The children, too, 
Gaze in wonder 

At sights so new. 
Though grief and pain 

In their mother meet 
And she says with a sigh, 

"Mes pauvres petites." 



tHEGREATWAR 395 



Trudging along 

By the oxen's head. 
The father walks 

With steps of lead. 
No more for him 

Grenade and gun. 
Released by age. 

He had just begun 

A peaceful life 

After war's alarms. 
In the fields and woods 

On this quiet farm. 
When once again 

The Blond Beast came. 
Bringing destruction, 

Death, and flame. 

Slowly along 

The dusty road 
Oxen labor 

Beneath their load, 
And soldiers stir 

In their roadside grave 
And weep for the living 

They died to save. 



396 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



'In an age of fops and toys. 

Wanting wisdom, void of right. 

Who shall nerve heroic boys 

To hazard all in Freedom's fight, — 

Break sharply off their jolly games. 

Forsake their comrades gay 

And quit proud homes and youthful dames 

For famine, toil and fray? 

Yet on the nimble air benign 

Speed nimbler messages. 

That waft the breath of grace divine 

To hearts in sloth and ease. 

So nigh is grandeur to our dust. 

So near is God to man, 

When Duty whispers low, 'Thou must.' 

The youth replies, 'I can.' " 

From Ralph Waldo Emerson's yoluniaries. 



APPENDIX 



The editor will appreciate it if readers will kindly notify him of any erron 
or omissions in the Appendix. Doubtless there are many, as the information avail- 
able for much of the material included is either uncertain or very incomplete. 

(Except in the Athletic Scores and the list of persons who have been granted 
honorary degrees, names of persons known to be deceased are starred.) 



398 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



ORIGINAL INCORPORATORS OF BUCHTEL COLLEGE 



•Rev. J. S. Cantwell, D. 
•Col. Geo. T. Perkins 
•Henry Blandy 
•Rev. George Messenger 
•Rev. B. F. Eaton 
•O. F. Haymaker 
•John R. Buchtel 
•Rev. H. F. Miller 
Rev. E. L. Rexford, D. 



D. 



Rev. H. L. Canfield. D. D. 
•Judge Newell D. TibbaU 
•Rev. J. W. Henley, D. D. 
•Judge E. P. Green 
•Willard Spaulding 
•George Steese 

•Rev. Andrew Willson, D. D. 
•James A. Lantz 



PRESIDENTS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

•John R. Buchtel 1870-92 *Augustus B. Church, D. D 1904-12 

•Ferdinand Schumacher 1892-4 Parke Rexford Kolbe, Ph. D 1913- 

♦George W. Crouse 1894-1904 



TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE 



Adams, F. H 1911-3 

Albrecht, F. W 1911-3 

Anger, J. D 1870-3 

Arbogast, J. A 1897-1909 

•Badger, D. Irving 1896-1902 

Baldwin, W. B 1911-3 

Beebe, Horace Y 1881-3 

Binns, E. T 1903-6 

Birkey, James L 1877-8 

•Blandy, Henry 1870-3 

•Boszar, Henry 1875-91 

Briggs, H. B 1901-9 

•Buchtel, John R 1870-92 

•Buchtel. William 1901-5 

•Burnham, S. M 1870-1 

1879-94 

Canfield, H. L 1870-90 

1900-3 

Cannon, A. V 1906-11 

•Cantwell, J. S 1870-81 

•Carlton, W. L 1899^1913 

Case, George L 1892-1903 

•Christy, Will 1909-13 

•Church. A. B 1893-1912 

Clark, R. A 1907-13 

Cochran. J. R 1870-1 

•Conger. A. L 1881-3 

1895-7 

Cooke. Frank M 1905-13 

•Crouse. George W.. Sr 1872-5 

1889-1912 

Crouse, George W.. Jr 1912-3 

•Doyle, Dayton A 1889-96 

1911-3 

•Eberly. Isaac 1873-5 

•Eddy, John F 1889-95 

Firestone, H. S 1912-3 

Fisher, Frank T 1903-6 

Ford, James 1904-13 



•Foster, Charles 1870 

(May to December) 

•Carver, John A 1875-7 

Goodrich, Charles C 1903-8 

•Grandin, J. L 1871-4 

•Green, E. P 1870-95 

•Griffin, A. B 1898-9 

•Hathaway, I. N 1896-1901 

•Haymaker, O. F 1 870- 1 

1906-7 

Henry, Carl F 1897-1906 

•Henry. M. W 1871-80 

Hidy. Joseph 1882-93 

1906-13 

Hord, George M 1872-5 

Hotchkiss, H. V 1902-5 

Kelly, H. A 1903-13 

Kohler, A. A 1905-13 

Kolbe, Parke R 1913 

Loomis, J. P 1912-3 

Mack, W. A 1874-5 

1878-81 

Marks, A. H 1911-3 

Marvin, Ulysses L 1897-1902 

Mason, E. G 1910-3 

Mason, F. H 1900-6 

•Maynes, Alex. W 1896-1903 

McCollester, Lee S 1902-13 

•Messenger, George 1870-2 

•Moore, Henrietta G 1893-1900 

•Morey, H. L 1883-6 

•Motz. J. A 1836-9 

Nash, C. E 18S6-9 

Noah, A. H 1910-3 

•Owen, Selwyn N 1884-6 

•Pendleton, J. H 1874-92 

•Perkins, George T 1870-97 

Pierce, Frank 1894-7 

•Pierce, Gen. James _ 1870-5 



APPENDIX 



399 



•Pierce. Jonas J 1875-94 

Raymond. C. B „ 1909-13 

♦Rice. J. F _ 1878-81 

1889-95 

Rexford. E. L 1870-8 

Roach. A. E 1907-10 

•Robinson, Charles J 1881-6 

♦Ryder William H 1883-4 

Saalfield. A. J 1909-13 

Sawyer, W. T 1896-1907 

♦Schumacher, Abby S 1892-7 

♦Schumacher, Ferdinand 1875-1900 

Seiberling. F. A 1911-3 

♦Seiberling, J. F 1870-2 

Shead, S. H 1871-4 

♦Slade. William H 1880-98 

Smith. Eberly D 1897-1900 



♦Spiccr. A. A. 1881-3 

♦Spicer. Avery .„ 1870-81 

Stearns. A. A 1883-1904 

1906-9 

Stephens, Charles H 1886-9 

♦Stevenson. M. D 1911-3 

Stone. Nelson 1913 

(June to December) 

Thompson. Samuel L 1897-1900 

♦Tibbals, N. D 1870-1909 

♦Tinker, A. B 1891-7 

♦Trowbridge, J. T 1875-81 

Tucker, Robert 1901-5 

♦Voris, Alvin C 1870-89 

1890-6 

♦Wieland, Philip 1870-7 

♦Willson. Andrew 1872-1912 



DIRECTORS OF THE MUNICIPAL UNIVERSITY 
OF AKRON 



Anderson, Geo. M 1920- 

Baldwin, William B 1914-6 

Beery. Clyde F 1916- 

Carlton. Clarence 1914-6 

Cooke, Frank M 1914- 

Eager, William H 1916- 

Harpham. F. M 1916- 

Held. E. R 1920- 

Kohler, Albert A 1914-20 



Kolbe, Parke R 1914-20 

Litchfield, P. W 1916- 

Loomis, James P 1914- 

Palmer, J. Asa 1916-20 

Putt, WiUon A 1914-6 

Seiberling, F. A 1914-16 

*3tevenson, Mark D 1914-6 

Thomas, John W 1920- 



CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Kolbe, Parke R 1914-6 Cooke, Frank M 1916- 

CLERK OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Olin. Charles R 1914- 



PRESIDENTS OF THE COLLEGE 



•Sullivan H. McCollester, 

D. D., Litt. D 1872-8 

Everett L. Rexford. D. D 1878-80 

•Orello Cone. D. D 1880-96 

Charles M. Knight. Sc. D. 

(ad interim) 1896-7 



Ira A. Priest. D. D 1897-1901 

♦Augustus B. Church. D. D.. 

LL. D 1901-12 

Parke Rexford Kolbe. Ph. D 1913- 

(President of the University. 1 91 4-) 



SECRETARIES OF THE COLLEGE 



•Sanford M. Bumham 1870-7 

1873-9 
•Andrew Willson. D. D 1877-8 



♦Albert B. Tinker, M. S., 

LL. B 1879-91 

Charles R. Olin. M. S 1891- 



TREASURERS OF THE COLLEGE 



•George W. Crouse 1870-5 

•James T. Trowbridge 1875-80 

•Joy H. Pwdl-ton 1880-91 



♦Albert B. Tinker 1891-7 

Charles R. Olin. M. S 1897-1912 

Andrew H. Noah ^^^ 1912-3 



400 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

FINANCIAL AND GENERAL AGENTS OF 
THE COLLEGE 

•D. C. Tomlinson 1872-5 *WjlIiam F. Crispin 1881-6 

1877-8 Henry L. Canfield, D. D 1886-7 

♦Andrew WilUon. D. D 1875-7 Arthur A. Stearns, A. M.. 

•H. F. Miller 1870-2 LL. B 1887-9 

1878-9 Julius O. Simmons 1891-2 

FACULTY 

(From the founding of the institution in order of appointment, by departments.) 
(Italic type indicates heads of departments. Dates are for entire length of 
service whether as head of department or not.) 

ANCIENT LANGUAGES 

*Nehemiah iVhite, A. M., 1873-5 

Wallace Mayo, A. B., 1873-6 
•Mary E. Stockman, L. A.. 1887-98 
•/. B. Choate, A. M.. 1875-8 

Mary B. Jewett. B. S., 1884-92 

George A. Peckham, A. M., 1878-80 
•Benjamin T. Jones, A. M., 1880-2 
*IV. D. Shipman, A. B., 1882-95 
*Charlei C. Bates, A. B., 1882-1902 

Joseph C. Rocktoell, A. M., Ph. D., 1902- 

M. Alice Rines Hitchcock, A. M., 1908-9 

ENGLISH AND RHETORIC 

Miss H. F. Spalding, L. A., 1872-5 
♦Miss Hattie Lowdan, 1872-3 

Miss Susie Chamberlain, B. S., 1873-87 
•Benjamin T. Jones, A. M., 1879-80 
♦Helen S. Pratt. L. A., 1881-6 

Mrs. A. T. VanLaer, 1887-8 

Maria Parsons, A. M., 1880-4. 1897-1905 

Mary B. Jewett, A. B., 1884-92 

Margaret C. Bradford, A. B., 1892-3 

Ellen E. Carrigues, A. M., 1893-7 

Albert I. Spanton, A. M., 1905- 

Katherine Merrill, A. M., 1908-10 

Margaret I. Wilson, A. M., 1910-12 
♦Frank D. Sturtevant, A. M., 1912-20 

Luke S. Brickley, A. B., 1915-7 

Lillian Morse Cullum, A. B., 1917-8 

Mrs. Earl Welsher, A. M.. 1918-9 

Earle Barton Howe, A. M., 1919- 
*Mrs. Claude E. Chain, Ph. B., 1920 

MODERN LANGUAGES 

*Carl F. Kolbe, Ph. D., 1872-7, 1878-1905 (Professor Kolbe taught the first claw 
in Buchtel College, September 11, 1872) 

♦C. H. G. McCrew, A. M., 1877-8 
Parke R. Kolbe, Ph. D., 1905-8 
Charles Bulger, A. M., \9\9- 



APPENDIX 4^ 

GERMAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 

Parke R. Kolhe, Ph. D., 1908- 
CharUi Bulger. A. M.. 1910-19 
Charles O. Rundeli. B. S., 191 4-5 
Eleanor Schmidt, Ph. B.. 1914-5 
Edward von Janinski, A. B., 1914-7 

ROMANCE LANGUAGES 

Sarah De Maupassant Plaisance, A. A/., 1908-13 

M. Alice Rines Hitchcock, A. M.. 1913-19 

Henri Morin. B. Com. Sci., 1915-6 

Albert A. Shapiro, Ph. D.. 1917-8 

Kalherinc M. Reed, A. M., 1918- 

Thcophile Dambac. B. es L., 1918-9 

Albert Tuller, A. B., 1914- 

PHILOSOPHY 

*5. H. McCollester, A. M., D. D., 1872-8 

E. L. Rexford, D. D., 1878-80 
*Orello D. Cone, D. D., 1880-96 

Ira A. Priest, A. M., D. D., 1897-1901 
*Augustus B. Church, D. D., LL. D., 1900-2 

PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIOLOGY 

Oscar E. Olin, A. M ., LL. D., 1902- 

POLITICAL SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS 

Oscar E. Olin, A. M., LL. D., 1902-19 
Earl Willis Crecraft, Ph. D., 1919- 

MATHEMATICS 

*Alfred Welsh, A. B., 1872-4 

*Elias Fraunfeller, A. M., Ph. D., 1874-83 

G. A. Peckham. A. B., 1878-80 
*J. H. Aydelotte, B. S., 1880-4 

George 5. Ely, Ph. D., 1883-4 

Chas. S. Howe, B. S., Ph. D., 1883-9 

Philip G. Wright. A. M. B.. 1884-6 

Tracy L. Jeffords. Ph. B., 1884-6 

Charles R. Olin. M. S.. 1888-91. 1897- 

Hermas V. Egbert, A. M., 1889-1903. 1917- 
*Willard H. VanOrman. B. S.. 1891-3 

John W. Sleppey, A. M.. 1893-4 

Frank M. Morrison. A. M., 1903-5 

Wilfred H. Sherk, A. M., 1905-6 

Max Morris. A. M.. 1914-20 

John L. Jones. Ph. D., 1920- 

John W. Bulger, B. C. E.. 1919- 

MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS 

Paul Biefeld, A. M., Ph. D.. 1906-11 

Clarence R. Weed. 1909-10 

Francis J. Holder. A. M.. Ph. D., 1911-2 

Sidney J. Lockner, A. M., 1912-8 

Dean Ober. E. E.. 1913-4 

Bernard W. Adams, B. S. in Engineering, 1916-7 



402 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

PHYSICS 

William H. Cullum. A. M.. 1917-8 
Richard W. Evans. M. S. in E. E., 1915-6 
F. F. Householder, A. M., 1918- 

CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 

Charles M. Knight. A. M., Sc. D., 1884-1907 
Joseph H. James. B. S.. Ph. D.. 1895-7 

CHEMISTRY 

Charles M. Knight, A. M., Sc. D., 1907- (retired as professor-emeritus in 1913) 

Hezzlelon E. Simmons, M. S., 1910- 

Frederick G. Jackson. M. S.. 1912-3 

Elvah Grafton. B. S.. 1912-3 

Lloyd Van Doren, Ph. D., 1913-4 

Arden E. Hardgrove. B. S.. 1913- 

K. Dolbeer Smith. B. S., 1913-16 

William F. Zimmerli. Ph. D.. 1914-7 

Robert L. Sibley, A. M., 1914-8 

Burl H. Yackee, B. S., 1917-8 

Richard H. Schmidt. A. M.. 1918- 

Ethel J. Weiler, A. M.. 1918-9 

C. A. Carlton. B. S.. 1918-9 

Florence N. Schott. B. S., 1919-20 

Elmer V. Hjort. B. S.. 1919-20 

Imogene J. Myrland. B. S., 1920- 

T. Robert Schweitzer. B. S.. 1920- 

NATURAL SCIENCE 

♦5. F. Peckham. A. M., 1872-3 

Sarah M. Glazier, A. M., 1873-4 
* Alfred Welsh, A. B., 1874-5 

Charles M. Knight, A. M., Ph. D., 1875-84 

Charles W. Foole, A. M.. Sc. D., 1881-2 
*Edward W. Claypole, B. A., B. Sc. (London). F. R. G. S.. 1884-97 
*Samuel P. Orth, B. S., Ph. D., 1897-1902 
*Charles Brookover, A. M., Ph. D., 1902-13 

Francis L. Whitney, A. B., 1907-8 

Emily Ray Gregory, Ph. D., 1913-5 

Amon B. Plowman, Ph. D., 1915- 

Carl C. Speidel. Ph. B., 1917-8 

Dorothy Walters Burton, M. S.. 1918-20 

HISTORY 

Dora E. Merrill. 1885-92 
Margaret G. Bradford, B. A.. 1892-3 
Ellen E. Garrigues, A. M., 1893-7 
Maria Parsons, A. M.. 1897-1905 
Oscar E. Olin. A. M.. LL. D., 1905-14 
Elizabeth A. Thompson. A. M., 1914- 



APPENDIX 405 

ELOCUTION 



Mrs. Anna P. Tucker, 1881-2 

Mr». Ada E. Metcalf. 1884-5 

Susie Chamberlain. M. S.. 1886 

Ada M. Mariner. M. S.. B. O.. 1886-90 

Cecil Harper. A. M.. 1890-1 

L. Alonzo Bullerfield, A. M.. Ph. D.. 1891-5 

Mrs. A. M. Garrigues. 1895-7 

L. Elmie Warner. Ph. B.. 1897-1900 

Carita McEbright. A. B.. 1900-1. 1910- 

Maude Herndon. B. S.. 1901-2 

Maude Caruthers. 1902-3 

Anna M. Ray. 1903-6 

Louise Forsythe, 1906-8 

Katherine Merrill. A. M.. 1908-10 



PRINCIPAL PREPARATORY SCHOOL 



Jennie Gifford. B. S.. 1879-98 
Oscar E. Olin. A. M.. 1893-1905 
Godfrey C. Schaible. 1905-6 
Charles O. Rundell, B. S.. 1906-13 



PHYSICAL EDUCATION 



Frank Haggerty. LL. B.. 1910-5 
Frederick Seflon. B. S., 1915- 

ENGINEERING SCHOOL 

Fred E. Ayer, C. E.. Dean 1913- 
Max B. Robinson. M. E.. 1916-20 
George E. Bennett. A. B., LL. B.. 1916-7 
J. S. Mathewson. M. E.. 1916-7 
Ross C. Durst. C. E.. 1917- 
Joseph W. March. E. E.. 1919-20 
Clarence O. Egdahl. A. B., 1919- 

LAW 

♦Albert B. Tinker, M. S.. LL. B., 1883-90 
♦L. K. Mihills, 1885-6 

Frederick C. Bryan. A. B.. LL. B., 1891. 1894-6 

Judge Charles R. Grant, 1891-4 



MUSIC 



Gustav Sigel. 1873-8. 1885-98 
♦Mrs. A. P. Rexford, 1878-80 
Arthur S. Kimball. 1880-2 
Ella H. Morrison, 1880-2 
Effie C. Cartwright, 1882-3 
Jennie P. Johnson, 1882-5 
George F. Lane, 1883-4 
Edwin S. Metcalf, 1884-5 
Claus Wolfram, 1885-9 
James K. Pleasants, 1885-8 
Emily Louise Mcintosh, 1885-8 



404 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

Helen P. Briggs. 1885-7 
Anna Mellor Schieb, 1887-8 
Annie A. Black, 1889-91 
Mattie E. Firey. 1891-3 
Alfred G. Cogswell, 1892 
M. Carlyle Sylla, 1893, 1894-7 
Sybil A. Caskey, 1893-4 
Dann S. Gage, 1893-4 
Katharine S. Parsons, 1895-7 
Estelle F. Musson, 1897-1902 
Edwin S. Douglas, 1898-9 
Mabel C. Goodwin Koons. 1898-1902 
Charles E. Clemens. 1902-3 
Albert H. Hurd. 1902-3 
Carl Dueringer, 1902-3 
*Lucy lone Edgerton, 1902-6 
Harold G. Hutchins, 1904-5 
Isabelle Kennedy, 1906-11 

ORNAMENTAL BRANCHES 

Mrs. S. E. Hershell, 1875-6 

Fannie A. Parmelee, 1874-5 ' 

Mrs. S. P. Choate, 1875-8 

PAINTING AND DRAWING 

Mrs. Kate D. Jackson, 1882-4 
Emma P. Goodwin, 1885-6 
♦Alexander T. VanLaer, 1886-90 
Stella S. VanLaer, 1889-90 
Bolton Coit Brown, 1 890- 1 
Minnie C. Fuller. 1891-1900 
D. B. Hassinger, 1900-1 
May F. Sanford, 1901-11 



NORMAL DEPARTMENT 



*H. D. Persons, 1872-3 
Jennie Gifford. 1874-92 
*Samuel Findley, 1892-4 



PENMANSHIP 



Miss Emma Miller. 1873-4 

J. M. Baldwin. 1878-9. 1882-5, 1886-9 

William H. Shinn. 1885-6 



PRECEPTRESS OF CURTIS COTTAGE 



Caroline E. Bliss, 1905 

Alice F. Mallery, 1906-7 

Mrs. Fannie Brookover, 1906-7 

Mrs. S. M. Mcllhinney. 1907-12 

Mrs. Lucy L. Davis. 1912-4 



APPENDIX 



405 



LIBRARIAN 



•W. D. Shipman, 1874 
C. R. Olin. 1895-1903 
0.car Schreiber. 1903-5 
Hailie Tillson. 1905-12 
Rena B. Findley, 1912- 
Josephine A. Cushman, B. L. S., 1919- 



ATHLETIC COACH 



Clarence R. Weed. 1909-10 
Frank Haggerty. LL. B.. 1910-5 
Frederick Sefton. B. S.. 1915- 



ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING 
Julius Boenish, 1914-7 

MILITARY SCIENCE AND TACTICS 

Glenn H. Anderson, Captain Infantry U. S. A., 1919- 

Roy O. Olson, Isl Sergeant Infantry U. S. A.. Unassigned, 1919- 



ALUMNI 



CLASS OF 1873 
Chamberlain, Susie E. 
Pierce, James B. 
*Saxe, Charles T. 
Sisler, Anna C. 

CLASS OF 1874 
*FIeming, Anna E. 

Garver, Ella M. 
*Gaskin, William E. 
*Howard, Elsie A. 
*Hyde, Cora E. 
*Prior, Emory A. 
*Ridgcway, Demma 
*Ridgeway, Ida 

Smelzer, Sara L. 
*Vaughn, Adella 

CLASS OF 1875 
*Calder, Antoinette R. 
*Cox, L. May 

McAIpine, George A. 

Peckham, George A. 
*Robinson, Charles J. 
*Robinson, Nellie 
*Titus, Lettie L. 

Voris, Edwin F. 

CLASS OF 1876 
Fullington, Walter C. 
Hidy, Joseph 
Jewett, Mary B. 



Kelly, Donna D. 

Kelly. Walla L. 
*Laws, Mara E. 
*Pleasants, George S. 

Rowe, Kitty L. 
*SampselI, Warren Wilberforce 

Shipman, Inez L. 
•Tinker, Albert B. 

CLASS OF 1877 

Bogue, Byron J. 
♦Ginn. Alvin R. 

Hamilton, Fremont C. 

Houston, Lizzie 

Ralston, Arthur M. 
*Risinger, John 
*Shipman, William D. 

Slade. Lizzie U. 

CLASS OF 1878 

*Balrd, Herbert Wells 
Carter, Frank Noah 
Chisnell, Clara Victoria 

*Doyle, Dayton A. 

*Voris, Lucy 

CLASS OF 1879 
*Beatty, Orin Charles 
*Jones, William Hidy, Jr. 

Kelley, Hermon Alfred 

McEbright, Katherine M. 
»Pleasants, William Hall 

Risinger, Abel 

Stearns, Arthur Adelbert 



406 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



CLASS OF 1880 
*Aydelotle, James Henry 
*Gulhrle, Augustus Jonathan 

Koon, Frank "Webster 

Tomlinson, Irving C. 

Tomlinson, Vincent E. 
*Wilson, Horatio Trace 

Wright, Charles Baker 

CLASS OF 1881 
*Kuhlman, Agnes 

Miller, Paul Raymond 

Thompson, John Caldwell 

CLASS OF 1882 
Bourne, Marion Edgar 
De Assumpcao, Carlos 
DeCrow, Hattie Josephine 
Hawk, Carrie Belle 
Herrick, Oakley Cannon 
Laughead, Mary Maria 

*Motz, Jacob Anton 

*Pleasants, Charles S. 

*Stall, Norman Arthur 
Wright, Minnie 

*Yates, Will Van Ness 

CLASS OF 1883 
Chesrown, Elias L. 

CLASS OF 1884 
Garber, Frank Webster 
*Hyre, Alonzo Eugene 
*Payne, Frank Owen 

CLASS OF 1885 
Acomb, Lillian 

♦Bock, Charles Skultus 
Bock, Mae Cecelia 
Church, Charles Newton 
Crissinger, Daniel Richard 
Emery, William John 

*Grandin, Frank Samuel 

*Krenzke, Mary Gertrude 
Koon, John Garibaldi 
Olin, Charles Russell 
Schumacher, Frank Adolph 

*Soule, Abbie Caroline 

CLASS OF 1886 

Bettes, Maurice 
Danforth, Lucy 
Ford, James 
Hill, Calvin 

Moore, Lillian Richards 
Page, Ernest Clifford 
Pardee, James Douglas 
Phillips, Ellery Orvin 
Pleasants, James Kirby, Jr. 
Rothrock, Edgar Sylvanus 
Slade, Marion Belle 



Thompson, Samuel Lennon 
Webb, Mary Grace 
Welsh, Elmer Ellsworth 

CLASS OF 1887 

Clark, Emma Eliza 

Dages, Nell Frances 
*Felt, Elmer Jay 

Ford, William Sherman 
*Getz, William 

Gladwin, Mary Elizabeth 

Gorton, Gracia Bell 

Henry, Herbert Hack 

Jones, Gary 
*Kingsbury, Elizabeth 

Kohler, Albert Andrew 
*Maynes, Alexander W. 

Olin, James Davis 
*Pixley, Frank S. 

Rummel, Luella Zeruah 

Sawyer, William Thomas 
*Sibley, Mary Dow 

Smith, John Robert 

Stuart, Frederick H. 

CLASS OF 1888 
Bleekman, Addie Louise 
Emerson, George Burson 

♦Lawrence, Edith Maynard 
Marvin, Mabel 

♦McMillen, Mary 

CLASS OF 1889 
Barnett, Bertha Blehmer 
Briggs, Herbert Bruce 
Cone, Edwin Frank 
Danglade, Ernest 
♦Harris, Madge Putnam 
Holcomb, Willard Anselm 
Mcintosh, Emily Louise 
Matthews, Gertrude Helen 
Palmer, Joseph Asa 

CLASS OF 1890 
♦Bonner, Edwin Percy 

Coit, Arthur Clinton 
♦McGillicuddy, Kate Leora 

Pardee, Ethelbert Kenneth 

Ransom, Eugene 
♦Rowley, Arthur James 

Smith, Halbert Dennis 

Tame, Alfred George 
♦White, Fred Harmon 

Wieland, Franklin Grant 

CLASS OF 1891 
♦Ackley, Wilbur Walton 
♦Andrew, Vernon Robert 
Baldwin, William Benson 
Cooke, Francis Marion 



APPENDIX 



407 



Findley, Edwin Leigh 
•Fries, George Frank 

Henry, Carl French 

Howe, William Woods 

Moore, John Clark 

Myers, Robert Augustus 

Perry, Inez Laura 

Pixley, Orla C. 

Sisler, Jennie Lenore 

Tucker, Robert 
*VanOrman, Willard Henry 

CLASS OF 1892 

Cannon, Austin V. 
*Chaney, Lizzie Josephine 

Claypole, Agnes Mary 
•Claypole, Edith Jane 

Cole, James Ethan 
•Gayer, William Carl 

CLASS OF 1893 

Coffey, William Taton 
Cole, Edith Maora 
Eberhard, LeRoy Crockett 

*Fehr, Peter 
Greene, Isabella Moore 
Hardin, Willet Lepley 

•Holcomb, Orin Grant 
Hollinger, Myrven John 
Keller, Alvin S. 
Kingsbury, Benjamin Freeman 
Koenig, Charles William 
McLean, Johnson Brown 
Myers, Burton Dorr 

•Osborne, Robert J. 
Putnam, William Pitt 
Seideman, Edward Samuel 
Shipman, Charles Hiram 
Slade, Alice Cary 
Thomas, Anna Elizabeth 

CLASS OF 1894 
Bargar, Margaret Elizabeth 
Bateson, Carolynne Elinore 
Clark, Harry Worthy 
Dean, Eva Ellen 
Dean, Origen Stone 
Findley, Samuel Emerson 
Herriff, Amy Irene 
•Hollenbeck, Harland 
James, Joseph Hidy 
Mathew, Taca 
Musson, Frances Estelle 
Schuman, Neva Grace 
Seidman, Arthur 
Simpson, John Hayward 
Snyder, Harry Lee 
Sorrick, Cora Jennie 
Stutzman, Ada Mary 
Taber, Gertrude 



Teeple, Arthur Rowe 
Thomas, John Lewis 
Webster, Carlos Greene 
West. Mary Zubia 

CLASS OF 1895 
Druley, Bertha Matellee 
Hibbard, Allen Hale 
Hovey, Clarke Samuel 
Kennedy, Herbert Wells 
Parker, Lulu Elizabeth 
Pierce, Hattie Gertrude 
Pitt, Wilson Arbingast 
Stockman, Avah Maude 

CLASS OF 1896 
Andrews, Mary Elizabeth 
Armstrong, Arabella Ruth 
Bell, Carrie 

Brophy, Elizabeth Mary 
Couden, William 
Foltz, Esgar Bowen 
Harpham, Emily Congreve 
•Laughead, Catherine 
Lukesh, Edward Frank 
Mumford, Eben 
Petty, Charles Ellsworth 
Pfaff, Philippina Maria 
Underwood, Chambers Howard 

CLASS OF 1897 
Alexander, Hannah Theresa 
Borst, Beulah May 
James, Margaret Trylla 
Johnson, Cora M. 
Mcintosh, Irene Belle 
Rice, Thaddeus Waldo 
Warner, Lydia Elmie 
Widdecombe, Blanche M. 
Youtz, Amy 

CLASS OF 1898 
Allen, Beulah Jeannette 
Mallison, Edith Estelle 
Rockwell, George Ward 
Rundell, Charles Oliver 
Schoeninger, Amelia 
Schrock, Claudia Eugenia 
Whiteman, Mrs Grace J. 
*Wilkins, Margaret Lavina 

CLASS OF 1899 
Anger, Maftie Marie 
Cole, Lena Cardell 
Cole, Orill A. 
Foofe, Mary Lincoln 
Frank, John Clarence 
Hoff, Helen Josephine 
Horton, Edward H. 
Huston, Bertha Margaret 



408 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



Mallison, Celia Rosalind 
Metzger, Floyd J. 
Rockwell, Frank Johnson 
Sawyer, Sophia Elvira 
Spanton, Albert I. 
Sperry, Harlan 

CLASS OF 1900 
Brown, Gerald Herbert 
Chess, Sarah DeEtta 
Eves, Archie Parvin 
Hardy, William Enunon 
Holloway, Albert Curtis 

*Hoye, Sarah Isabella 
James, Mary Louise 
Johnson, Arthur Charles 
Marty, Mildred Elizabeth 
Mitchell, Grace Letitia 
Reed, Leona Susan 

*Schultz, Katherine Bertha 
Smith, Archibald Ray 
Taber, Isabella 

CLASS OF 1901 
Cranz, Mary Lucinda 
Durling, Anna Lydia 
Evans, Emily Jane 
Everett, Alice May 
Foltz, Adelaide Louise 
Harpham, Edith Anna 
Herndon, Maude 
Kellam, Emma Grace 
Kolbe, Parke Rexford 
Myers, Ralph Emerson 
Orin, Maurice J. 
*Robinson, Edson Meredith 
Ticknor, Ella Pearl 
Wildes, Anna Elizabeth 

CLASS OF 1902 
Chamberlain, Meade 
Cooke, Harry Walton 

*Cooke, Lyle Duane 
Lynn, Linna Amanda 
Parshall, Inez 
Rickard, Edna Mae Bel 
Schoeninger, Anna Bertha 
Thomas, Alton Orr 
Trachsel, William John 

*Waller, Ivan Eugene 

CLASS OF 1903 
Andree, Herman Julius 
Brown, Chalmers Simms 
Gayer, Clara Louise 
Greer, Carlotta Cherryholmes 
Horix, Louise 
Hotchkiss. John Donald 
Jefferson, Grace Ethel 
Marty, Pearl Anna 



*Mihills, Lawrence Aubrey 
Miller, Adele Melita 
Motz, Miriam Amy 
Parshall, Gladys 
Rowell, Harry Emmet 
Starkweather, Ada Vivian 
Warner, Arthur Eugene 
White, Ross Abia 

CLASS OF 1904 

Brown, Frank Howard 
Carlton, Clarence Clay 
Huggins, Kathryn Kent 
Nardin, Charles Carolman 
Olin, Charlotta Harriet 
Swanson, Frederick G. 
Thomas, John Webster 
Welton, Frank Aldis 

CLASS OF 1903 

Crist, Robert 
Dawson, Emily Sarah 
•Maynes, Alexander W. 
Lynn, Ella Viva 
Reynolds, Dana Farnum 
Reynolds, Harriet Emeline 
Rockwell, Mary A. 

CLASS OF 1906 
Adams, Mina L. 
Brouse, Clara Florine 
Brown, Albert T. 
Carter, Homer Wilbur 
Clark, Hazel lone 
Conner, Chester Farnham 
Evans, Esther Alice 
Heacock, Edith Hannah 
Hemington, Lucretia Emmerson 
Knight, Hal Greenwood 
Knight, Maurice Acomb 
Parshall, Edward 
Saunders, Amy Lillian 
Spangler, George Howard 
Wells, James Raymond 
Whiton, Agnes Lillian 
Zepp, Amanda Elida 

CLASS OF 1907 
Carnes, Ethel May 
fHeacock, Lenore 
Hofchkiss, Ruth 
Kinley, Elizabeth Ursula 
Mallison, Blanche Janet 
Olin, Blanche Marie 
Rickert, Ura Garfield 
Rockwell, Ida 
Smetts, Adah 
Smith, Hazel 
Tillson, Hallie 



tCertificate of attainment in music. 



APPENDIX 



469 



CLASS OF 1908 

Bulger. Charles 
Bunker, Jessie 
Goehring, Frank Sturgeon 
King, Lucian Loomis 
Myers. Carl Metz 
Penrod. Walter Wellington 
Reynolds. Don Sidney 
Roach. Elizabeth Meikle 
Roach, Ethel Minerva 
Shuman, Cottie Pruella 
Simmons, Hezzieton E. 

•Smith, Hugh M. 
Sumner, Beatrice 

*Sumner, Mac Albert 
Tomlinson. Irene Lucretia 
Wilcox. Mabel 



CLASS OF 1909 

Bull. Sleeter 
Carpenter, Ford Lincoln 
Cole, Hazel Lane 
Ewart, Claude E. 
Fouch, Honor C. 
Frederick, Irl Allen 
Greer, Blanche Clare 
Iredell, Robert 
Jackson, Theron S keels 
Jahant, Charles John 
James, Nellie Rebecca 
Jones, Cyrinthia 
McNeil, Cecil Clair 
Pfaff, Herman H. 
Rentschler, Beatrice 
Richardson, Reed White 
Simmons, Marie 
Sippy, Burne Olin 



CLASS OF 1910 

Belden, Russell 
Botzum, Lyda E. 
Cowan. Anna 
Ford, Martha Eleanor 
Gulick, Robert Aaron 
Hanan. Joseph Bradford 
•Harfer, Helen G. 
Means, Marjorie 
Pfaff, Helen Isabella 
Proehl, Bess Louisa 
Read, Verne Ray 
Risch, Walter H. 
Rohan. Howard 
Swanson, Harriet 
Theiss, Fred C. 
Tomlinson, Agnes Martha 
Wright. Harry E. G. 



CLASS OF 191 1 
Babb, Lois Leonard 
Converse, Mary Elizabeth 
Cruickshank, Maggie Scott 
Dodge, Harriet D. 
Grafton, Elvah Harley 
Haas. Elma 

Hardgrove, Arden Ellwood 
Hart. Bessey H. 
Herberich, Alfred 
McMillen, Frank O. 
Minor, Hazel 
Myers, Albert B. 
Olin, Leona Genevieve 
Read. Fred K. 
Rothenhocfer. Bessie 
Schmidt. Eleanor 
Seymour, Ruth Webb 
Townsend, Helen Louise 
Tremelin, MyrI D. 
Walker, Grover 
Wilcox, Ralph J. 



CLASS OF 1912 

Arbogast, Harry L. 
Buckman, Helen 
Davies, Ethel 
Fehr, Inez 
France, Marjorie 
Ginther, Ralph Bernard 
Haines, Harold 
Hitchcock, Fred A. 
Otis, Katherine Louise 
Rothenhoefer. Bertha 
Sladden, Lucile 
Wirth, Franklin 



CLASS OF 1913 

Alton, Myrtle 
Bastian, Hattie 
Church, Evelyn 
Esgate, Vere 
Fiebeger, Ruth Elevena 
Gary, Gladys 
Gilbert. Walter 
Grimm. John 
Hackett, Helen Moore 
Inskeep, Harry 
Mankin, Clarence E. 
Morris, Max 
Olin, Sarah Estella 
Parker, Helen 
Priest, Ruth 
Rinehart, May Irene 
Simmons, Harriet 
Smith, K. Dolbeer 
Vittel, Peter 



410 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



Ulrich, Joseph 
Way. Mildred 
Zimmerman, Guy 

CLASS OF 1914 

Alexander, F. Glenn 

Allen, Juliette Irene 

Barnette, LeRoy T. 

Bruederlein, Rilla M. 
*Ca8well, Earl W. 

Curtice, Nelia 

Harter, Ruth Belden 

Herriff, Dene Marie 

Hockensmith, Farlin L, 

Jarvis, Ellen Douglass 

Joy, E. Mildred 

Kraus, Charles M. 
•Miller, Eva Irene 

Roach, Alberta 

Sidnell, Albert E. 

Stauffer, Velma Pauline 

Theiss, Lily May 

Voris, Marion 

Weber, Lyman V. 

Westley, Helen I. 

Wilson, Robert F. 

CLASS OF 1915 

Bowman, M. Eleanore 
Bniner, George 
Carter, J. Bernice 
Conger, Sidney B. 
Dowell, Leora Isabella 
Ellis, Harold D. 
Fleming, Ina B. 
Foltz, William W. 
Hanna, E. Lloyd 
Hillman, Harry W. 
Limbert, Clinton B. 
*Moutes, George 
Murphy, Effie 
Phelps, Arthur L. 
Ranney, Arthur 
Ross, Donald 
Spencer, Elmer L. 
Taylor, Raymond S. 
Thomas, Joseph 
Tomlinson, C. Sprague 
Weaver, Pauline 

CLASS OF 1916 

Allen, Anna 
Chisnell, Carl C. 
Crawford, Porter J. 
Crisp, Park 
Cooper, William Voil 
Dresher, R. Elizabeth 
Dwycr, Helen G. 
Frick, Carl E. 



Glock, Clementine M. 
Grismer, Karl H. 
Hardman, Bert 
Hull, Lois 
Johnson, Ralph W. 
Mignin, A. Louise 
Miller, Rhea Kathryn 
Pfahl, Eva 
Rohner, Eva M. 
Sickler, Clement 
Smith, Willson 
Sours, Harold 
Strandberg-Pierce, Carl 
Taylor, George I. 
Warner, Raymond 
Yackee, Bert 

Curtis School of Home Economics 
Willson, Irene 
Proehl, Bessie 

CLASS OF 1917 

Azar, Robert I. 

Brown, Donald Emerson 

Carlton, Clinton Arbie 
*Chain, Mrs. Faye Thompson 

Cushman, Josephine Amanda 

Darrah, David 

Frederick, Inez Anna 

Freeder, Arthur 

Gable, Norris Leroy 

Geisinger, Elliott E. 

Hardie, Julia Elizabeth 

Hugi, William Edgar 

Kasch, Richard Monroe 

Kittelberger, Fred W. 

Knowlton, John A. 

Mertz, Raymond A. 

Olin, Esther Ellene 

Pfahl, Helen Agnes 

Poules, Ira C. 

Quintan, Dorothy Anna 

Richardson, Marion S. 

Roth, Samuel 

Sammarone, Sal van 

Santom, Thomas Baldwin 

Schaeffer, Carl H. 

Shea, Joseph B. 

Simms, Mrs. Hazel Prestage 

Squibbs, Hubert S. 

Stansfield, Percy W. 

Thornton, Dwight G. 
Curtis School of Home Economics 

Burkman, Ann C. 

Cleaver, Josephine 

Fleming, Rachel E. 

Mallory, Helen M. 

Tobin, Honora 



APPENDIX 



411 



CLASS OF 1918 
Babcock, Mabel Julia 
Driesbach, Oliver Charles 
Ellsworth, Lloyd 
Gillen, Francis D. 
Green, Leonard S. 
Lidyard, V. Dewey 
McAdoo, Bruce Elliott 
Manthey, Edwin L. 
Means, Martha 
Nail, Anna 
Olin, Lucretia M. 
Place, Marguerite 
Rowse, Robert J. 
Schmidt, Martin 
Smith, Cyril R. 
Snyder, Marion 
Tibbitts, Dorothy 
Todd, John Alexander 
Tomkinson, Leroy B. 
Curtis School of Home Economics 
McConnell, Hazel M. 
Putt. Hazel M. 

College of Engineering 
Kennedy, John S. 

CLASS OF 1919 

Arnold. Wendell H. 
Fosnighf, Reed O. 
Gilbert. Carl S. 
Grafton, John Warren 
Graham. Katherine Ruth 
Henderson, John Charles 
Hollingsworth, Edith May 
Holloway, Harold S. 
Hottenstein, Howard W. 
Jones, Loretta May 
Hunsicker, Oscar Aaron 
Makman, Saul H. 
Marvin, Lila Eleanor 
Osborne, Joseph Crosby 
Purdy, Walter W. 
Rowley, Pauline Barbara 
Shaffer, Carl R. 
Taylor, Louise 

Curtis School of Home Economics 
Hardic. Helen V. 



Kepler, Helen M. 
Robinson, Irma Viola 

School of Engineering 
Converse, Lucius F. 
Daniel, Emmett V. 
Gulick, J. Earl 
Mitchell, Ernest Christian 
Soderlund, Carl 

CLASS OF 1920 
Andreas, Anna Rosalind 
Bierce, Bruce Wallace 
Boedicker, Earl O. 
Butler, Whitney Elmer 
Cable, John Edgar 
Calvin, Ruth 
Christy, Robert T. 
Cooper, Leslie Vail 
Haas, Eugene George 
Haley, Arthur Read 
Hawk. Ethel 
Henegan. Olive Anna 
Knowlton. Arthur S. 
Kohn. Leona Theresa 
Pfahl, Charles Alton 
Pfahl, Wilbert C. 
Rogers, Virgil Edwin 
Ross, Donald Rothaker 
Shaffer, Helen Harriet 
Swigart, Clarence Marsh 
Swinehart, Clyde Leroy 
Urpman, Nina Elizabeth 
Wendt, Aubrey Ashe 
Werner, Herman Edward 
Williams, Glenn Arthur 
Williams, Mary Jeannette 
Woodruff. Jay Black 
Griffiths, Jack Leonard 
Motz. Clarence E. 

Curtis School of Home Economics 
Frampfon, Bertha Regina 
Garver, Rhea Katherine 
Kerch, Hazel 

College of Engineering 
Halpern, Philip 
Joel, Floyd E. 
Judy, Lowell L. 
Kuszmaul, Corliss 



412 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

ADVANCED DEGREES 

July 8, 1873— Rev. Willard Spaulding of Massachusetts D. D. 

July 7. 1874— Rev. E. L. Rexford D. D. 

June 29. 1875— Rev. John Stebbins Lee of Canton. N. Y D. D, 

June 27, 1876— Rev. John Wesley Hanson, A. M., Chicago, 111 D. D. 

Rev. Carlos Smith, A. M., of Akron, O D. D. 

June 26. 1877— Samuel Findley of Akron, O A. M, 

Rev. John G. Adams of Melrose, Mass D. D. 

June 25, 1878— Rev. J. H. Tutlle of Minneapolis, Minn D. D. 

June 24. 1879— Rev. A. A. Thayer. Erie. Pa A. M. 

June 22. 1880— Wm. D. Shipman (in Course) A. M. 

Rev. Sumner Ellis D. D. 

June 23. 1880— Mrs. Lizzie Slade Voris. 77 (in Course) A. M. 

June 21. 1881— Rev. H. P. Forbes. Canton. N. Y A. M. 

June 20. 1882— A. J. Scott. M. D.. Loudenville. O A. M. 

June 19, 1883— A. E. Clevenger (A. B.. Tufts, 78) A. M. 

H. A. Kelley. B. S., 79, A. B.. '80 (in Course) A. M. 

A. A. Stearns, 79 (in Course) A. M. 

A. B. Tinker, 76 (in Course) A. M. 

I. C. Tomlinson, 80 (in Course) A. M. 

June 24, 1885— Charles B. Wright, '80 (in Course) A- M. 

Oscar F. S afford, Cambridgeport, Mass D. D. 

June 22, 1887— Judge Selwyn N. Owen LL. D. 

Joseph F. Jantes M. S. 

Rev. F. L. Hosmer D. D. 

June 20, 1888— Rev. Henry L. Canfield, Bellville. O D. D. 

Rev. W. S. Crowe, Newark, N. J D. D. 

Charles Baird, Akron, O A. M. 

June 19, 1889— Ernest C. Page, '86 (in Course) M. Ph. 

James D. Pardee, '86 (in Course) M. S. 

June 25, 1890— Mae Cecelia Bock, '85 (in Course) A. M. 

Judge W. W. Boynton, Cleveland LL. D. 

Prof. Henry P. Forbes, Canton, N. Y D. D. 

Rev. Everett L. Conger, Pasadena. Cal D. D. 

June 22. 1892— Prof. Isaac Augustus Parker. Galesburg, 111 Ph. D. 

June 26, 1895 — Frank Owen Payne, '84 (in Course) M. S. 

June 24, 1896 — Edwin Leigh Findley, '91 (in Course) A. M. 

June 23, 1897— Prof. Charles M. Knight Sc. D. 

Rev. John C. Burrus, DeFuniak Springs, Fla D. D. 

June 20, 1899— Rev. Elmer Hewitt Capen, D. D., President of 

Tufts College LL. D. 

June 19, 1900— Rev. A. B. Church A. M. 

June 25, 1901— Rev. Andrew Willson D. D. 

June 24. 1902— Parke R. Kolbe. '01 (in Course) A. M. 

Ralph E. Myers. '01 (in Course) M. S. 

H. N. Dodge. D. D. S.. of Morristown, N. J Litt. D. 

June 20. 1905— Rev. I. M. Atwood. D. D.. of Canton. N. Y LL. D. 

Prof. Charles B. Wright, '80 L. H. D. 

Judge Joseph Hidy, '76 LL. D. 

Dr. Frank Wieland. '90 A. M. 

Mrs. Donna Kelly Couch, '76 A. M. 

Mrs. Emma Cadwallader Hyre A. M. 

James E. Cole, '92 A. M. 

Dr. Mary B. jewett, '76 A. M. 

June 19. 1906— A. A. Stearns, 79 LL. D. 

Rev. G. I. Keirn, Muncie, Ind D. D. 

June 18, 1907— Hermon A. Kelley, Cleveland LL. D. 

Dr. L. B. Fisher, Galesburg. Ill LL. D. 

Rev. James Riley Johnson, Marietta, O D. D. 



APPENDIX 413 

March II. 1908— Frank S. Pixley. 87 LiH. D. 

June 12, 1908— Rev. L. Walter Ma$on. Pittsburgh. Pa D. D. 

Rev. S. H. McCollester. D. D.. Marlboro. N. H L. H. D. 

June 15. 1909— Chas. R. Olin. "85 (in Course) M. S. 

Rev. E. G. Mason D- D. 

June 14, 1910— Theron S. Jackson. '09 (in Course) M. S. 

Hon. H. C. Morris. Chicago. Ill A. M. 

April 20, 191 1— Rev. Edson Reifsnider, Galesburg, III D. D. 

June 13, 1911— Fred C. Theiss, '10 (in Course) M.S. 

Harry E. G. Wright. '10 (in Course) M. S. 

Rev. Franklin C. Southworth. Meadville. P« D. D. 

Judge Dayton A. Doyle, 78 LL. D. 

C. B. Raymond A. M. 

Mjrs. Elizabeth Thompson A. M. 

June 18. 1912— Wm. W. Jackson. Cleveland. O A. M. 

Rev. George Ezra Huntley. Canton. N. Y D. D. 

June 16. 1913— Elvah H. Grafton. '11 (in Course) M.S. 

June 16. 1920— Oscar Eugene Olin, A. M LL. D. 

Mary Elizabeth Gladwin, *87 LL. D. 

Ira Williams, B. S., Cooper College (in Course) M. S. 

PRESIDENTS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 

•Adella Vaughn, '74 '876-7 

•C. J. Robinson, '75 «877-8 

No record from 1879-1889 

James Ford, '86 >889-90 

*D. A. Doyle, '78 1890-1 

C. N. Church, '85 '891-2 

♦Elizabeth Kingsbury, '87 1892-3 

Mrs. Lucy Danforth Felt, '86 '893-4 

*Mrs. Charles Baird, '78 '894-5 

George A. Peckham, '75 '895-6 

*Alex W. Maynes, '87 '896-7 

H. L. Snyder. '94 '897-8 

H. L. Snyder. '94 '899-1900 

Isabella M. Green. '93 900u| 

S. L. Thompson. '86 '901-2 

Herbert B. Briggs. '89 9^-3 

Herbert B. Briggs. '89 903-4 

John R. Smith, '87 '904-5 

John R. Smith. '87 905-6 

Albert I. Spanton. '99 906-7 

Charles O. Rundell. '98 907-8 

Parke R. Kolbe. '01 1908-9 

Parke R. Kolbe. '01 1909-10 

Charles O. Rundell. ;98 '9'0-l 

Hezzleton Simmons, 08 nii'a 

Hezzleton Simmons, '08 1912-3 

Esgar B. Foltz. '96 '9'3-4 

Esgar B. Foltz. "96 '914-5 

Arthur E. Warner. '03 '9'5-6 

Cecil C. McNeil. "09 '916-7 

Charles R. Olin, '85 '9'7-8 

Charles L. Bulger. '08 1918-9 

Charles L. Bulger, '08 1919-20 



414 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



SUMMARY OF ALUMNI 

(Including the Class of 1920) 

NUMBER OF GRADUATES 

Men 364 

Women 286 



Total 



650 



Geographical Distribution 

Deceased 66 

Unknown 4 

In California 13 

In Colorado 4 

In Connecticut 1 

In Florida 1 

In Georgia 3 

In Idaho 3 

In Illinois 9 

In Indiana 14 

In Iowa 3 

In Massachusetts 10 

In Michigan 12 

In Minnesota 1 

In Mississippi I 

In Missouri 3 

In Montana 1 

In Nebraska 2 

In N. Carolina 1 

In N. Dakota 1 

In New Jersey 2 

In New Mexico 1 

In New York 23 

In Ohio 432 

In Oklahoma I 

In Oregon 2 

In Pennsylvania 19 

In Tennessee 1 

In Texas 1 

In Utah 1 

In Vermont 3 

In Washington 2 

In Wisconsin 1 

In Wyoming 1 

In Panama 2 



Occupations of Alumni 

Actors 2 

Architects 1 

Artists 1 

Authors 3 

Bankers 4 

Charity Organization Workers 2 

Chemists 25 

Clergymen 1 1 

Clerical Work 25 

Commercial Work 69 

Contractors t 

Decorators 1 

Dietitians 5 

Engineers 19 

Farmers 10 

Forestry 1 

Government Employ 8 

Insurance and Real Estate 9 

Lawyers 42 

Librarians 5 

Living at Home 46 

Lyceum Bureau Work 1 

Manufacturers 4 

Married Women 90 

Merchants 4 

Musicians 4 

Newspaper Work 7 

Nurses 4 

Physicians 18 

Promoters 4 

Public Service 2 

R. R. Agents I 

Salesmen 9 

Secretarial Work 12 

Students 6 

Teachers and Professors 103 

Unknown 20 



APPENDIX 415 

LAWS AND REGULATIONS 

OF 

BUCHTEL COLLEGE 

(As published in pamphlet form, 1874) 
CHAPTER I 

ADMISSION INTO COLLEGE 

1. There shall be four Departments of Study in the College: 

First. A complete College Course of four years, equal to that of the best 
Classic Institutions in the country. 

Second. A thorough Philosophical Course of two years. 

Third. A Normal Course, to meet the demands of scholars wishing to prepare 
themselves for successful teachers. 

Fourth. A Preparatory Course, to fit students for College and afford them 
useful Academic Instruction. 

Candidates shall not be admitted info any of these courses without first presenting 
satisfactory testimonials of possessing good moral characters. 

2. Applicants for admission to the four years' College Course, must sustain a 
good examination in the following studies: 

Greek 
First four books of Xenophon's Anabasis; first three books of Homer's Iliadi 
or their equivalents; Greek Grammar and Prosody. 

Latin 
Three books of Caesar's Commentaries; Bucolics of Virgil, and six books of 
the Aeneid; four Orations of Cicero; Latin Grammar and Prosody; and twelve 
Lessons of Prose Composition. 

Mathematics 
Arithmetic; Algebra, to Equations of the Second Degree. 

English 

English Grammar; History of the United States; Modern and Ancient 
Geography. 

Candidates for advanced standing are examined in the above studies, and in 
those that have been pursued by the class which they propose to enter, and if 
from other colleges, they must furnish certificates of regular dismission. 

Students failing to maintain proper rank in any branch during the course, will 
be subjected to conditions which must be made up before they can be entitled 
to degrees. 

3. All candidates to be admitted to the Philosophical Course must sustain a 
satisfactory examination in the following: 

English Grammar; History of the United States; Geography; Arithmetic; 
Algebra through eight sections; and four books of Geometry. 

4. Students to enter either the Normal or Preparatory Department, must have 
a good knowledge of the elements of learning, including Spelling, Reading, Writ- 
ing, Arithmetic and Geography. 

5. Examinations for admission are on Thursday after Commencement, and on 
Tuesday previous to the opening of the Fall Term. 

6. All candidates for the College Courses shall join their class on probation 
for one term. 

7. Students, when admitted, shall receive a copy of the Laws and Regulations, 
and shall immediately deliver to the Treasurer a Bond with satisfactory security 
for the pa3rment of their term bills. Each student shall then sign the following: — 
"Having been admitted to Buchtel College, I acknowledge that I am obligated to 
regard its Laws and Regulations." 

8. To complete the matriculation, the student shall receive a certificate of 
admission signed by the President. 



416 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

CHAPTER II 

THE FACULTY 

1. The Executive authority of the College is vested in the President, Pro- 
fessors, Instructors and Tutors, who constitute the Faculty of the College, and 
have the authority to prescribe from term to term, such regulations as the interest 
of the Institution may require, subject to the approval of the Trustees. 

2. The Faculty shall appoint a Clerk of their body, who shall keep a record 
of their proceedings subject to the inspection of the Trustees. 

3. The President shall superintend the course of instruction and the general 
affairs of the College; call meetings of the Faculty, preside and vote at the same; 
preside at examinations and Commencements, and address, as occasion may require, 
public and private counsel and instruction to the students. 

4. The members of the Faculty shall faithfully instruct in their departments, 
and judiciously execute the laws of the College, maintaining discipline and order. 

5. The President, Professors and Instructors, shall make annually a report of 
the instruction and progress in their respective departments. The President shall 
also make an annual report of the condition and moral character of the College. 

6. Each Professor and Instructor is expected to devote at least four hours per 
day, during five days of the week to classes in the recitation room; Professors 
residing outside of the College are expected to devote five hours a day in hearing 
recitations. If Professors should be unable to perform their duties before their 
classes, they should immediately notify the President of the same, and provide 
experienced instruction, subject to his approval. 

7. The Faculty shall receive pay for their services at the end of each term. 
Their year commences at the beginning of the Fall Term. 

8. To secure co-operation and uniformity of action, the Faculty shall hold 
frequent and stated meetings to consider and determine all questions pertaining to 
the order and welfare of the College. Questions of importance shall be decided 
by the vote of the majority. 

9. The President with the advice of the Faculty, shall appoint suitable persons 
to perform the duties of bell-ringer and keeper of recitation rooms, and to fill other 
responsible places in the college. 

CHAPTER III 

RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE 

1 . All students are required to attend daily the reading of the Scriptures and 
morning prayers, and public worship on the Sabbath. 

2. Students, if of age, or at the request of parents or guardians, may select 
their own church in the city of Akron for stated Sabbath worship. 

CHAPTER IV 

STUDIES, INSTRUCTION AND DISCIPUNE 

1. Instruction shall be given in the different Courses according to the Curriculum 
laid down in the Catalogue. 

2. Students shall procure and use such books and observe such arrangement 
of studies, as shall be appointed by the Faculty. 

3. The students shall punctually attend the various recitations, lectures and 
other exercises prescribed by the Faculty. 

4. There shall be Rhetorical Exercises in the several classes, or before the 
whole College, as the Faculty may direct. Nothing shall be spoken or read publicly 
in the College, which shall not have been approved by the President or Instruc- 
tor in charge. 

5. The failure of students to perform their part in these exercises shall be re- 
garded a delinquency which shall be subject to admonition, suspension or expulsion, 
at the discretion of the Faculty. 

6. Students are required to have not less than three, nor more than four 
studies during each term. 



APPENDIX 417 

7. Study hours for members of the College, will be from quarter to eight in 
the morning till noon, from two o'clock in the afternoon till half-past four, and 
from half-past six in the evening till the hour of retirement. During these hours 
students will remain in their rooms, whether in the College building or in town, 
except to attend College exercises. During study hours students must refrain from 
all unnecessary noise in their rooms, or about the College buildings, especially in 
going to and from recitations. All tarrying, or loud talk in the halls, or playing 
on musical instruments in study hours, are strictly forbidden. No visiting of rooms 
is allowed without permits. 

8. Students are not allowed to be absent from any recitation or duty without 
permission from the President, or officer in charge and the Professor to whom 
they recite. 

9. Absence from any College exercise, unless excused, receives demerit marks 
which cannot be removed without the student's presenting the Faculty a written 
excuse, giving satisfactory reasons for such absence. Professors are expected to 
report to the President all absences from their classes within two days after they 
occur. 

10. All omitted recitations must be made up within the time designated by 
the Faculty. 

11. Absence without permission from prayers once, receives two demerits; from 
church once, four demerits; from a college lecture, three demerits; from a recita- 
tion, two demerits; absence from the College Building during the hours of recita- 
tions, without permission from the President or some member of the Faculty in 
charge, or passing beyond College limits at any time without liberty, will subject 
a student to private admonition, or discipline before the Faculty. 

12. Professors shall keep a daily record of the absences, attention and pro- 
ficiency of all students in their classes. These records, at the end of each term, 
shall be engrossed; and from them shall be made out in connection with the general 
deportment at the close of each year, a scale of merit for the use of the Faculty, 
being placed on the records of the College. The standing of students shall be 
reported at the end of each term to their parents or guardians. 

13. There shall be an examination of the classes at the close of each term. 
These examinations shall be conducted in the presence of as many of the Trustees 
as can attend, and of a committee at large designated by the Faculty. This com- 
mittee shall be requested to mark by numbers their estimate of the standing of each 
student. The committee shall be requested to prepare a report for the Trustees 
giving their views of the examinations, the rank of the students, and the merit or 
demerit of the instructions. From these examinations no student shall absent himself 
except with the leave of the President, and on conditions prescribed by the Faculty, 
under penalty of losing connection with the College. 

14. The Faculty, under direction of the Trustees, shall prepare and cause to 
be published for the use of the students, such regulations as may be regarded 
necessary for the highest good of the Institution. 

15. To the annual Catalogue shall be appended such information respecting 
the course of study, expenses, etc., in the College, as may be thought expedient. 

16. At the beginning of each term, the first College exercises will be morning 
prayers on Wednesday. Recitations, so far as practicable, will commence on the 
first day of each term. 

17. After the Senior Examinations and the assignment of parts in the Com- 
mencement Exercises, the Seniors, on application to the President, may obtain 
leave of absence, till Friday preceding Commencement, provided their parts shall 
have been prepared and accepted. 

18. At the end of each term, the keys of every room must be left with the 
Superintendent, responsible for the same, or the expense of a new lock upon the 
door shall be charged to the occupants. 

19. During vacation no student shall reside in the College, except by permission 
of the Faculty, and under such regulations, as they may prescribe. For disorderly 
or immoral conduct in vacation, any student shall be responsible the same as in 
lerm-time. 



418 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

CHAPTER V 

ROOMS, BILLS AND BOARDING 

1. A Student shall not occupy any room but by permission of the Faculty. 
The classes shall have precedence in the choice of unoccupied rooms in the order 
of seniority; for the members of each class priority of choice shall be decided by 
lot. The annual rent of a room shall be eighteen dollars. 

2. During each term every room shall be inspected by the Superintendent and 
Professors in charge, and a record shall be kept of all damages. Students shall 
be held responsible for rooms assigned them, and shall be charged for all damages 
done the same. Damages done to the College Buildings, or other property of the 
College, may be assessed upon all the students, unless the actual agents of the 
damages shall be discovered. 

3. In the last term bill of each member of the senior classes five dollars extra 
will be charged for diploma. 

4. If for any cause, except sickness, a student shall leave College before the 
end of the term, or shall be absent during a portion of the term, the bill will be 
made out for the whole term. 

5. Term bills are invariably due in advance. If students shall suffer bills 
to remain unpaid for two weeks after they are due, unless special arrangements 
shall have been made with the Treasurer, they shall lose their connection with 
the College. 

6. No student shall be dismissed on request, from the College, until all bills 
have been settled. 

7. Students will not be entitled to degrees until their College bills shall have 
been discharged. 

8. A student shall not board in any family, or in any club without the ap- 
proval of the Faculty. 

CHAPTER VI 

CALENDAR 

I. Annual Commencement on the second Wednesday of July. Vacation from 
Thursday following commencement, till the second Wednesday in September. 

First term commences second Wednesday in September, and continues fourteen 
weeks. 

Vacation two weeks. 

Second term begins on the first Wednesday in January, and continues twelve 
weeks. 

Vacation one week. 

Third term begins first Wednesday in April, and continues fourteen weeks. 

CHAPTER VII 

LITERARY SOCIETIES 

1. No Literary Society shall have a room assigned in the College for its meet- 
ings, till a copy of this Constitution and Rules be deposited with the President. 

2. It shall be the duty of every such society, to present to the President of the 
College the names of its officers within one week after their election. 

3. For any damage done to the College building during its meetings, if judged 
by the Faculty to be done by the members of the Society, they will be held re- 
sponsible for damage and will be assessed accordingly. 

4. The meetings in the evening of any society shall close by quarter to ten. 

CHAPTER VIII 

LIBRARY 

1. The Library shall be open to students in term-time at least one day of 
every week at such hours as may from time to time be appointed. 

2. No students shall take out more than one volume at the same time; and no 
book shall be kept more than two weeks. For every book not returned at the time 



APPENDIX 419 

jpecified, and for any injury which a book may sustain while in the care of a 
student, the same shall pay a sum judged equitable by the Librarian. 

3. No student shall carry from the College a book belongmg to the Library, 
without permission of the Librarian, under penalty of being deprived of the use 
of the Library. 

4. All books, by whomsoever taken, shall be properly charged. 

CHAPTER IX 

SCHOLARSHIPS 
I. Scholarships have been founded and others will be, for the purpose of 
aiding worthy and deserving young men and young women. The beneficiaries 
are exempt from all charges of regular College tuition and incidental fees. These 
scholarships are appropriated according to the directions of the donors while they 
live; after that the Trustees control perpetually these scholarships. 

CHAPTER X 

ADDITIONAL RULES 

1. Students are expected to be kind and respectful to others. 

2. Students, while connected with the College, are strictly forbidden the use 
of intoxicating liquors, tobacco and profane or indecent language on the college 
premises or so far as the College has any jurisdiction. 

3. No student is allowed to take or remove furniture from the rooms; to mark, 
cut, drive nails into the buildings; to throw anything to or from the windows; 
to spit upon the floors, or in any way to deface the College property. 

4. Students must refrain from all improprieties in the halls, such as boisterous 
talking or scuffling, and must not visit each others room without permits. 

5. Young men and young women are not allowed to take walks or rides 
together without permission. 

6. Students of different sexes are not permitted to visit at any time each 
other at their rooms. Violations of this rule will receive severe punishment. 

7. A student boarding in the College is not expected to invite a friend to a 
meal, or to tarry in the building over night, without the permission of the Super- 
intendent of the building. 

8. No student shall fire gunpowder in the College building or on the premises, 
or engage in card-playing or any form of gambling in the College or in the city, 
or visit liquor saloons or billiard rooms, or commit injuries upon the person or 
property of any student. 

9. Students are not allowed in the kitchen, bakery, or storeroom, or basement 
of the College. Assignments will be made from time to time to the students for 
using the Gymnasium; the young women will have their seasons for exercising in 
it, and the young men theirs. 

10. Students who find it necessary to be out of the College in the evening later 
than the hour the doors are closed for the night, must make previous provision 
for entering the College with some Professor or officer of the College. Entering 
through a window or by a forged key, or in any improper way, will subject a 
student to suspension or expulsion. 

1 1 . The Faculty shall have authority to visit and search any room in the 
College, using force if necessary to enter it, and assess all damages occasioned by 
violations upon the offender. 

12. Suspended students shall not be permitted to resume their place in their 
classes until they shall have passed a satisfactory examination in all the studies 
pursued by the classes during their suspension. 

13. At all public exercises given in the College Chapels, the young men will 
occupy the east side, and the young women the west side. 

14. Students who shall violate any lawful order of the Faculty, or be in- 
subordinate to any lawful sentence passed upon them, or treat with insult or con- 
tempt, the person or authority of any College officer, or refuse to admit an officer 
into their rooms, or conduct disorderly in consequence of the infliction of punish- 
ment upon a fellow student, shall be subject to admonition, suspension, or expulsion. 



420 FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 

15. A student disturbing religious services at any time by coming in late, or 
by any misconduct, will receive demerits for each offence. 

16. Students boarding in the College will receive one demerit if five minutes 
late at a meal, or for any disorder in the dining-room, or for tarrying in it after 
meals, or for any misconduct in coming to or going from it. Day students are 
not allowed above the first flooring of the College building without special permits. 

17. Students having received five demerits, will be privately admonished; hav- 
ing received ten, they will be publicly admonished; having received fifteen in the 
same term, they will be subject to suspension or expulsion. 

18. A sentence may be mitigated, or withdrawn if it shall appear from the 
penitence of the student and other circumstances, that this can be done without 
detriment to the authority and moral influence of the College. 

CHAPTER XI 

ANNIVERSARY AND DEGREES 

1. On the second Wednesday of July, there shall be a public Anniversary 
of the College, at which original Essays and Orations shall be read or spoken 
by the Senior Classes, who shall be appointed by the Faculty according to their 
moral and intellectual rank. 

2. The order in which the Seniors shall read or speak on Commencement Day, 
shall be decided by lot. 

3. The Graduates in the Classical Course will receive the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts; those in the Philosophical Course, the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. 

4. Every Bachelor of three years' standing in the Classical Course, having 
sustained a good character and been devoted to intellectual pursuits, and having 
paid to the Treasurer five dollars, shall be entitled to the degree of Master of 
Arts; on the same conditions, any Bachelor of three years' standing in the 
Philosophical Course, shall be entitled fo the degree of Master of Philosophy. 

ATTENDANCE BY YEARS 

(This record has been made for the college department alone. It is exclusive 
of all departments outside Buchtel College.) 

1872-3 46 1896-7 88 

1873-4 101 1897-8 

1874-5 72 1898-9 92 

1875-6 56 1899-1900 88 

1876-7 54 1900-1 94 

1877-8 47 1901-2 

1878-9 46 1902-3 82 

1879-80 46 1903-4 83 

1880-1 38 1904-5 81 

1881-2 52 1905-6 118 

1882-3 69 1906-7 123 

1883-4 72 1907-8 121 

1884-5 84 1908-9 129 

1885-6 86 1909-10 132 

1886-7 79 1910-1 148 

1887-8 74 1911-2 151 

1888-9 92 1912-3 175 

1889-90 1 12 1913-4 198 

1890-1 121 1914-5 188 

1891-2 105 1915-6 216 

1892-3 127 1916-7 .214 

1893-4 1 10 1917-8 214 

1894-5 1 16 1918-9 294 

1895-6 98 1919-20 348 



APPENDIX 



421 



MEMBERS OF PHI SIGMA ALPHA HONOR 
FRATERNITY 

CHARTER MEMBERS 1913 

Class of 1910 Morris, Max 

Bclden. Russell ' Priest. Ruth H. 

Botzum. Lida E. Vittel, Peter 

Cowan, Anna 1914 
Ford, Martha E. (Mrs. James M. Theiss, Lily 

^ ^*,") ^ Alexander, Glenn 

Guhck, Aaron Weslley, Helen 

Hanan, Joseph loie 

»Harter. Helen (Mrs. Reginald Hay) „ ^, '^'^ 

Means. Marjorie (Mrs. Cecil McNeil) P.^'^T"' li""?K* * r^ r, 

Pfaff, Helen Murphy, Effie (Mrs. A. F. Ranney) 

Proehl. Bessie Taylor. Raymond 

Risch. Walter H. 1916 

Rohan. Howard Pfahl, Eva 

Swanson. Harriet (Mrs. Harriet Miller, Kathryn 

Engle) Taylor. George 

Theiss. Fred C. Warner, Raymond 

Tomlinson. Agnes 1917 

Wright. Harry E. G. gimms. Mrs. Hazel 

Initiates Carlton. Arbie 

'911 Frederick, Inez 

Haas. Elma I9)R 

K:: Aibe'^;'"'' N'"- a«». cm... R.b... r.w.) 

D .L L r D ■ /n/i r'L 1 Means. Martha 

Kothenhoerer. bessie (Mrs. Charles \ii \ j d 

ni \ McAdoo, Bruce 

1912 

France, Marjorie (Mrs. Byron Fes- g*'??''"*'' ^°'^^\j l 

senden) Holl.ngsworth Edith 

Ginther, Ralph B. Arnold, Wendell 

Otis. Katherine (Mrs. K. Arthur '920 

Meissner) Urpman, Nina 

Rothenhoefer, Bertha (Mrs. Wm. Kohn, Leona 
Edgar Murphy) Haas, Eugene 

FACULTY MEMBERS 

Plaisance. Sarah DeMaupassant. Phi Beta Kappa. A. M. University of Colorado. 

Knight. Charles M.. Phi Beta Kappa, A. M. Tufts College. 
*Brookover. Charles. Sigma Si. Ph. D. University of Chicago. 

Hitchcock. Mrs. Fred. Phi Beta Kappa. A. M. Tufts College. 
*Sturtevant. Frank D.. Phi Beta Kappa, A. M. St. Lawrence. 

Rockwell, Joseph C, Phi Beta Kappa, Ph. D. Jena. 

Lockner, Sidney J.. Sigma Si, A. M. Union College. 

VanDoren, Lloyd, Phi Beta Kappa, Ph. D. The Johns Hopkins University. 

Plowman. Amon B.. Phi Beta Kappa. Ph. D. Harvard University. 

Burton. Mrs. Dorothy Walters. Phi Beta Kappa, M. S. Ohio Wesleyan 
University. 

Howe. Earle B.. Phi Beta Kappa, A. M. St. Lawrence University. 

Jones. John Lewis, Phi Beta Kappa. Ph. D. Yale. 

HONORARY MEMBERS, FACULTY AND ALUMNI 

Kolbe, Parke R.. Ph. D. Heidelberg Class of 1901 

Findley, Edwin L.. A. M Class of 1891 

Spanton. Albert I.. A. M. Harvard Class of 1899 

Cole, Mrs. Susie Chamberlain Class of 1873 

Bulger. Charles L., A. M. Wisconsin Class of 1908 



422 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



WINNERS OF ASHTON PRIZES 
SENIOR ASHTON CONTESTS 

Second Prize 



Emily Mcintosh 
A. C. Coit 
C. F. Henry 
James E. Cole 
Edward S. Seidman 
Carlos G. Webster 
Lulu E. Parker 

*Katherine Laughead 
Thad W. Rice 

*Margaret Wilkins 



M. Amy Motz 
F. G. Swanson 
Mary Rockwell 
Amy Saunders 
Blanche Olin 
Jessie Bunker 
Marie Simmons 
Anna Cowan 
Grover Walker 
Ethel Davies 
Hattie Bastian 

Catherine Blanchard 

William E. Hugi 



CONTESTS 

Second Prize 
Emily Mcintosh 
*A. J. Rowley 
Inez L. Perry 
*I. C. Rankin 
Burton D. Myers 

Lulu E. Parker 
Mary E. Andrews 
Blanche M. Widdecombe 
Arthur L. Foster 
Amelia Schoeninger 
Sophia Sawyer 

Anna Wildes 

Adele M. Miller 
Bertha Widdecombe 
Harriet Reynolds 
Maurice Knight 





First Prize 


1887-8 


No contest 


1888-9 


J. Asa Palmer 


1889-90 


*A. J. Rowley 


1890-1 


Inez L. Perry 


1891-2 


Austin V. Cannon 


1892-3 


Burton D. Myers 


1893-4 


Harry W. Clark 


1894-5 


Clark S. Hovey 


1895-6 


Arabella Armstrong 


1896-7 


Arthur C. Johnson 


1897-8 


Jeannette Allen 


1898-9 


No contest 


1899-1900 


No contest 


1900-01 


No contest 


1901-2 


No contest 


1902-3 


Ada V. Starkweather 


1903-4 


Frank Welton 


1904-5 


Harriet Reynolds 


1905-6 


Lucretia Hemington 


1906-7 


Ethel Cams 


1907-8 


Frank Goehring 


1903-9 


Cecil McNeil 


1909-10 


*Helen Harter 


1910-11 


Hazel Minor 


1911-2 


Ralph Ginther 


1912-3 


Helen Parker 


1913-4 


No contest 


1914-5 


Eleanore Bowman 


1915-6 


No contest 


1916-7 


Esther Olin 


1917-8 


No contest 


1918-9 


No contest 


1919-20 


No contest 




JUNIOR ASH 




First Prize 


1887-8 


E. F. Cone 


1888-9 


•Kate McGillicuddy 


1889-90 


*G. F. Fries 


1890-1 


J. E. Cole 


1891-2 


Edith M. Cole 


1892-3 


No contest 


1893-4 


Minnie Jones 


1894-5 


Eben Mumford 


1895-6 


Beulah Borst 


1896-7 


Claudia Schrock 


1897-8 


J. Clarence Frank 


1898-9 


No contest 


1899-1900 


Grace Kellam 


1900-01 


No contest 


1901-2 


Arthur E. Warner 


1902-3 


Clarence Carlton 


1903-4 


Esther Evans 


1904-5 


Clara B rouse 



APPENDIX 



423 



First Prize 

1905-6 Ida Rockwell 

1906-7 Hezzleton Simmons 

1907-8 Ford Carpenter 

1908-9 Russell Belden 

1909-10 Mary Converse 

1910-1 No contest 

1911-2 S. Estella Olin 

1912-3 Rilla Bruederlein 

1913-4 Pauline Weaver 

1914-5 Clarence Palmer 

1915-6 Honora Tobin 

1916-7 No contest 

1917-8 No contest 

1918-9 No contest 

1919-20 No contest 



Second Prize 
Blanche Mallison 
Irene Tomllnson 
Cecil McNeil 
♦Helen Harter 
Hazel Minor 

Walter Gilbert 
Glenn Alexander 
Leora Dov^rell 
Louise Mignin 
William Hugi 



SOPHOMORE ASHTON CONTESTS 





First Prize 


Second Prize 


1887-8 


No contest 




1888-9 


No contest 




1889-90 


L. F. Lybarger 


*Myrtie Barker 


1890-1 


*Orin G. Holcomb 


William P. Putnam 


1891-2 


♦Harland H. Hollenbeck 


Gertrude Taber 


1892-3 


Wilson A. Putt 


Lulu E. Parker 


1893-4 


Maude R. Newberry 


Arabella R. Armstrong 


1894-5 


L. Elmie Warner 


Thad Rice 


1895-6 


No contest 




1896-7 


Celia Mallison 


May Foote 


1897-8 


E. M. Robinson 


Isabelle Taber 


1898-9 


Helen M. Inman 


Maude Herndon 


1899-1900 


Alton Thomas 


Ada Starkweather 


1900-01 


No contest 




1901-2 


Charlotte H. Olin 


Bertha Rene Widdecombe 


1902-3 


Equally divided between 
Elizabeth Voris and 


Ella Viva Lynn 




Mary Rockwell 


, 


1903-4 


Lucretia Hemingfon 


Clara B rouse 


1904-5 


Ethel Cams 


Hallie Tillson 


1905-6 


Frank Goehring 


Maude Prier 


1906-7 


•Hugh Smith 


Marie Simmons 


1907-8 


Edna Beardsley 


Howard Rohan 


1908-9 


Eleanore Schmidt 


Hazel Minor 


1909-10 


Ralph Ginther 


Fred Hitchcock 


1910-1 


Helen Parker 


Walter Gilbert 


1911-2 


Leah Marsh 


Rilla Bruederlein 


1912-3 


Eleanore Bowman 


Joseph Thomas 


1913-4 


R. Kathryn Miller 


David Johnson 


1914-5 


Inez Frederick 


Dorothy Quinlan 


1915-6 


Dewey Lidyard 


Marguerite Place 


1916-7 


No contest 




1917-8 


No contest 




1918-9 


Louise Kraus 


Alleyne Weaver 


1919-20 


No contest 





424 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



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426 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



PENDLETON LAW PRIZE WINNERS 

1889-90 — First Prize — ^Eugene Ransom 

Second Prize — A. C. Coit 
1890-1 —First Prize— W. B. Baldwin 

Second Prize — Robert A. Myers 
1891-2 —First Prize— *Lizzie J. Chaney 

Second Prize — Equally divided among *Edith J. Clajrpole, Agnes M. 
Claypole, A. V. Cannon 
1892-3 — First Prize — E. 5. Seidman 

Second Prize — *Robert J. Osborne 
1893-4 —First Prize— J. H. Simpson 

Second Prize — Cora A. Allen 
1894-5 —First Prize— Clark S. Hovey 

Second Prize — Lulu E. Parker 
1895-6 —First Prize — Arthur Foster 

Second Prize — Chambers Underwood 



ORATORICAL CONTEST WINNERS 

Place Place 

in state in state 

Contest Contest 



♦Newton Chisnell 
♦H. W. Baird ... 



1877 
1878 

1879 *Wm. H. Jones 

1880 *Agne8 Kuleman 

1886 E. C. Page 5 

1887 *Mary D. Sibley 7 

1888 E. F. Cone 4 

1889 E. F. Cone 7 

1890 fRobert Tucker 1 

1891 Carl F. Henry 2 

1892 L. F. Lybarger 2 

1893 B. D. Myers 4 

1894 Lulu Parker 5 

1895 Eben Mumford 7 



1896 No representative 

1897 A. 1. Spanton 7 

1898 ? 3 

1899 *Edson Robinson 3 

1900 Archie Eves 5 

1901 *Edson Robinson 3 

1902 C. C. Carlton 5 

1903 C. C. Carlton 4 

1904 No representative 

1905 Lucrefia Hemington .... ? 

1906 H. E. Simmons 6 

1907 Carl Myers ^ 4 

1908 No contest , 

1909 Withdrew 



fThird place in the Inter-State Contest. 



TOMLINSON PRIZE WINNERS 



l915_First Prize— Rhea Kathryn Miller 

Second Prize — David Darrah 
1916 — First Prize — ^Josephine Cushman 

Second Prize- — Grace Lienhard 
1917— First Prize— David Darrah 

Second Prize — (No prize awarded) 
1918— First Prize— Marion Snyder 

Second Prize — Leona Kohn 
1919 — First Prize — James Weeks 

Second Prize — Oscar Hunsicker 
1920 — None awarded 



APPENDIX 



427 



ATHLETIC SCORES 

1873 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Cooper Catcher Buchtel 24; Reserve 25 

Knight Pitcher Buchtel 8; Kenyon 21 

Lewis First Base Buchtel 38; Woosler 20 

Murphy Second Base Buchtel 26; Cuyahoga Falls 35 

Paine, Carey Third Base Buchtel 15; Akron 28 

Guy jShort Stop There were two clubs, each with a 

G. Howard Left Field first and second team. 

A. Howard Right Field 

W. Buchtel Center Field 

Subs: Pumphrey, Forbes, Hutchin* 
son. Brown. 

1874 

BASEBALL 

Team: Lewis, Paine, Howard, Guy, Voris, Weaver, Kellogg, and McSparren. 

Buchtel 8; Reserve 23 

1876 

BASEBALL 

Buchtel 4; Reserve 39 

1877 

BASEBALL 

Buchtel 1 ; Reserve 21 

1878 
BASEBALL 
Team: Guthrie, Wise, Miller, Chapman, Randall, Weeks, I. Tomlinson, 
Whitmore, and Dale. 

Buchtel 8; Wooster 18 



1879 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Pardee Catcher Buchtel 29; Wadsworth 14 

Kerr, Weeks, Brittain Pitchers Buchtel 1 ; Reserve 23 

Foole First Base Buchtel 22; Wooster 6 

Thompson Second Base Buchtel 5; Mt. Union 

Wilhelm, Carter Third Base Buchtel 4; Reserve 17 

Grandin, Seiberling Short Stop Buchtel 6; Wooster 12 

Miller Left Field Buchtel 6; Reserve 7 

Southmayd, Apt, Voris Right Field 

Bettes Center Field 



428 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



1880 
BASEBALL 
Lineup 

P. Miller Catcher Buchlel 6; 

J. Guthrie Pitcher Buchtel 23; 

S. B. Rice First Base Buchtel 21 ; 

V. Tomlinson jSecond Base 

G. Whitmore Third Base 

C. C. Wyandt Short Slop 

I. Tomlinson Left Field 

V. Tomlinson Right Field 

D. Twiggs Center Field 

1882 
BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Pardee Catcher 

Campbell, Kerr (capt.) Pitchers 

Apt, Southmayd, Foote First Base 

Bettes, Jacobs, Thompson. ...Second Base 

Wilhelm Third Base 

Thompson, Williams, Weeks..Short Stop 

Slade, Miller Left Field 

Pierce, Kohler, Voris Right Field 

Thomas, Bettes Center Field 

1884 
BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Pardee Catcher 

Weeks, Pierce, Parker Pitchers 

Kohler First Base 

Pierce, Chase Second Base 

Grandin Third Base 

Briggs, Weeks jShort Stop 

Miller, Laughlin Left Field 

L. Thomas Right Field 

Taylor Center Field 

1887 
BASEBALL 

Lineup 



Games 
Tallmadge 3 
Cuyahoga Falls 5 
Wadsworth 3 





Games 


Buchtel I ; 


Reserve 23 


Buchtel 5; 


Wooster 7 


Buchtel 6; 


Young Akrons 8 


Buchtel 6; 


Reserve 7 


Buchtel 6; 


Wooster 12 


Buchtel 22; 


Wooster 6 



Games 
Buchtel 11; Mt. Union 22 
Buchtel 1 1 ; Buckeyes 1 1 
Buchtel 5 ; Buckeyes 1 1 



Pardee Pitcher 

S. Pierce Catcher 

Kohler First Base 

Bettes JSecond Base 

Thomas Third Base 



Stuart , 

J. Pierce 
Thompson 
Wagner ... 



1890 
BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Myers Catcher 

L. Briggs (mgr.) Pitcher 

C. Kolbe, Tracy First Base 

Coit (capt.). Beck Second Base 

Mayer, Fisher Third Base 

McLean, Welsh, Taylor Left Field 

Campbell Right Field 

Conkle, Mignin Center Field 



Buchtel 3; 

Buchtel 3; 

Buchtel 7; 

Buchtel 0; 

Buchtel 6; 

Buchtel 5; 

Buchtel 0; 

Buchtel 4; 

Buchtel 2; 



Games 
Kenyon 1 
Kenyon 1 5 
Wooster 5 
Denison 1 
O. S. U. 7 
Kenyon 1 
Denison 12 
O. S. U. 10 
Werners ! 



...JShort Stop 

Left Field 

...Right Field 
.Center Field 



APPENDIX 



429 



1891 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Brownell Catcher Buchtel 16; Akron 2 

L. Briggs Pitcher Buchtel 8; Wooster II 

McLean. Tilton First Base Buchtel 9; Wooster 7 

Myers Second Base Buchtel 9; Kenyon II 

Cassidy Third Base Buchtel 6; Denison 3 

Mignin, Brown 5hort Stop Buchtel 4; O. S. U. 

Welsh Left Field Buchtel 4; O. S. U. 5 

Campbell, Sichley Right Field 

Clark Center Field 

FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Webster. Fry Left End Buchtel 6; Reserve 22 

Osborne Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Kenyon 42 

Putt Left Guard Buchtel 0; Case 42 

McKnight Center Buchtel 0; O. S. U. 4 

Coe Right Guard 

Meade Right Tackle 

Weeks (capt.) RigHt End 

Eddy Quarter 

McLean. Kingsbury.. ..Left Half Backs 

Campbell Right Half Back 

Welsh. Clark. Hardin. 

Mignin Full Back 

1892 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Brownell Catcher Buchtel 7; Rubber Works 9 

Clark Pitcher Buchtel II; Hiram 15 

McLean, Brown First Base Buchtel 6; Case II (12 innings) 

Miller 3econd Base Buchtel 4; Denison 5 (10 innings) 

Campbeii Third Base Buchtel 8; Kenyon 8 (12 innings) 

Cassidy Short Stop Buchtel ....; Reserve .... 

Thursby Left Field Buchtel ....; Allegheny .... 

Mignin Right Field Buchtel ....; Reserve .... 

Hardin Center Field Buchtel 4; Denison 5 

Buchtel 3; O. S. U. 7 

Buchtel 3; Kenyon 2 

Buchtel 4: O. S. U. 7 

FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Webster. Benedict Left End Buchtel 9; Case 14 

Wise, Steigmeyer Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Kenyon 52 

Taylor Left Guard Buchtel 0; O. S. U. 62 

Coe. McKnight Center Buchtel 0; Reserve 52 

Putt Right Guard Buchtel 4; Denison 

Keller Right Tackle Buchtel 26; Akron Athletic Club 

McLean (capt.j. Buchtel 30; Hiram 

Loudenback Right End 

Hardin Quarter 

Johnson, Fither. Kingsbury..Half Backs 
Mignin Full Back 



430 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



1893 
BASEBALL 



Lineup 

Brownell Catcher 

Gardner, Saylor, Clark Pitchers 

Clark, Gardner, McLean, 

Brown First Base 

Gardner, Saylor Second Base 

Cassidy (capt.), Lodwick....Third Base 

Cassidy, Lodwick Short Stop 

Johnson, Simpson Left Field 

Fisher Right Field 

Miller Center Field 





Games 




Buchtel 2 


Werners 6 




Buchtel 13 


Werners 3 




Buchtel 23 


Werners 




Buchtel 9 


Case 3 




Buchtel 4 


Oberlin 4 




Buchtel 6 


Akron 7 




Buchtel 13 


Akron 12 




Buchtel 13 


Akron 10 




Buchtel 11 


Hiram 




Buchtel 4 


O. S. U. 9 




Buchtel 1 


Denison 14 




Buchtel 10 


Kenyon 12 




Buchtel 16 


Case 7 




Buchtel 9 


Kenyon 0* 




Buchtel 21 


Wadsworth 1 




Buchtel 23 


Werners 3 




Buchtel 7 


Denison 12 




Buchtel 3 


Akron 10 




Buchtel 3 


Cleveland 6 




*Forfeite 


i. Kenyon objected 


to the 


umpires decisions. 





FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Webster (capt.) Left End Buchtel 54; Hiram 2. 

Yerrick Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Case 36 

Wise, Taylor Left Guard Buchtel 52; Massillon 4 

Putt Center Buchtel 66; Reserve Academy 4 

McKnight Right Guard Buchtel 18; O. S. U. 32 

Taylor, Wise Right Tackle Buchtel 46; O. W. U. 4 

Loudenback Right End Buchtel 40; Mt. Union 

Calmer, Donovan, MitchelL.Right Half 

Gardner Left Half 

Fisher Full Back 

Hardin Manager 



1894 

BASEBALL 

Lineup ^ Games 

Fisher Catcher Buchtel 6; Canton 7 

Hines, Clark Pitchers Buchtel 19; Hiram 6 

Hallinan First Base Buchtel 6; Canton 9 

Lodwick, Cassidy Second Base Buchtel 15; Canton 

Brownell, Cassidy Third Base Buchtel 5; Akron 12 

Johnson, Thrasher Short Stop Buchtel 11; Hiram 10 

Loudenback, Cranz, Hamlin..Left Field Buchtel 12; Reserve 8 

Simpson Right Field Buchtel 16; Akron 3 

Clark, Canfield Center Field Buchtel 8; Allegheny 1 

Buchtel 13; Allegheny 10 

Buchtel 10; Allegheny 11 

Buchtel 30; Canton 5 

Buchtel 0: Cleveland 2 



APPENDIX 



431 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Webster Left End Buchtel 12; O. S. U. 6 

Cooke Left Tackle 

D. Taylor I.. .Left Guard 

C. Taylor Center 

McKnight Right Guard 

Wise Right Tackle 

Loudcnback Right End 

Heisman Quarter 

Johnson Left Half 

Stewart Right Half 

Fisher (capt.) Full Back 

1895 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Brownell Catcher Buchtel 7; Old Leaguers 15 

Wylie. Cranz, Feddcrson, Buchtel 13; Canton 21 

Conway Pitchers Buchtel 8; Case 7 

Newberry, Halbinan First Base Buchtel 9; Baldwin-Wallace 10 

Canfield. Cain. Loderick....Second Base Buchtel 4; Cleveland A. C. 9 
Rabe, Gerehan, Cule, 

Cassidy Third Base 

Johnson 5hort Stop 

Wilson. Russell Left Field 

Clifford. Stevenson Right Field 

Smith. Thrasher Center Field 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Earnhardt. Whitsell Left End Buchtel 6; O. S. U. 14 

Johnson. Donovan Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Baldwin-Wallace 48 

Laub, Johnson Left Guard Buchtel 22; Massillon 

Eves Center 

Kapp Right Guard 

Camp. Lolt Right Tackle 

F. Rockwell Right End 

Wilson Quarter 

Evans Left Half 

Werner Right Half 

Leacock. Walters Full Back 

Ifi97 

BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

F. Metzger Catcher Buchtel 5; Akron 27 

M. Metzger Pitcher Buchtel 13; Werners 4 

Inman First Base Buchtel 7; Mogadore 13 

Smith Second Base Buchtel 8; Orioles 7 

Maloney Third Base 

Kromer 5hort Stop 

F. Rockwell Left Field 

Johnson Right Field 

Eves Center Field , 



432 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



1899 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Melzger Catcher Buchtel 15; High School 2 

Orin, Eves, Fassnacht Pitchers Buchtei 3; Case 19 

Brown First Base Buchte! 2; Allegheny 12 

Allen, Lee Second Base 

While, McChesney, 

Kromer Third Base 

Price Short Stop 

Hoisington Left Field 

Qine, Frank Right Field 

F. Rockwell, Eves Center Field 

FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Hardy Left End Buchtel 10; Y. M. C. A. 

F. Rockwell Left Tackle Buchtel 1 1 ; Baldwin- Wallace 

Ross Left Guard Buchtel 5; Mt. Union 11 

Trachsel ^......„Center 

Sharpe Right Guard 

Herndon, Cook Right Tackle 

Smith Right End 

Mihills Quarter 

Robinson (mgr.) Left Half 

Price (capt.) Right Half 

Eves : Full Back 



1900 
FOOTBALL 
Lineup 

F. Rockwell, Barnhardt Left End Buchtel 

Evans Left Tackle Buchtel 

Trachsel Left Guard Buchtel 28 

Eves, Cook Center Buchtel 

Sharpe Right Guard Buchtel 6 

Barnhardt, Eves, Buchtel 21 

F. Rockwell Right Tackle 

Washer Right End 

Mihills Quarter 

Robinson, Price, Lake Left Half 

Arbogast, Easton, Cushman..Right Half 
Polsky Full Back 

1901 
BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Polsky Catcher Buchtel 3 

Washer Pitcher Buchtel 18 

Williamson, Brown First Base Buchtel 8 

Orin JSecond Base Buchtel 4 

Reid Third Base Buchtel 8 

Price Short Stop Buchtel 2 

Cushman Left Field Buchtel 7 

Moore Right Field Buchtel 5 

Huber Center Field Buchtel 4 



Games 
Case 
Oberlin 33 
Mt. Union 5 
W. U. Penn 17 
Kenyon 1 1 
Kirkwoods 



Games 
Reserve 9 

Actual Business College 7 
Hiram 20 
Mt. Union 13 
Wooster 5 
Hiram 8 
Reserve 1 
Mt. Union 7 
Wooster 5 



APPENDIX 



433 



TENNIS 

At Wootttx, Ma7 24. 1901 
Singles 

Weld -...„ 6 6 6 Henry 

Myen 1 1 I Kolbe 

Doubles 
Hill.-Luc«j 4 6 

Kolbe-Myer. 6 4 



1902 
FOOTBALL 



Lineup 



Doyle, Crist, Durr, Krager....Lcfl End Buchtel 0; 

Ross Left Tackle Buchtel 6; 

Swanson Left Guard Buchtel 1 1 ; 

Gayer Center Buchtel 0; 

H. Knight Right Guard Buchtel 0; 

Fichthorne Right Tackle Buchtel 17; 

M. Knight, Thomas Right End Buchtel 0; 

Mihills (capt.) Quarter 

Pitkin Left Half 

Parshall „ Right Half 

Weary Full Back 

BASKETBALL 



Games 
Mt. Union 21 
Allegheny 23 
Bethany 6 
Wooster 56 
Heidelberg 34 
Hiram 6 
Heidelberg 17 



Lineup 

Washer Left Guard 

Rostock, Weary Right Guard 

Swanson Center 

Zellers Left Forward 

Wise, Krager Right Forward 



Games 
Buchtel 9; Mt. Union 120 
Buchtel 12; Wooster 48 
Buchtel 27; College of Physicians and 

Surgeons 26 
Buchtel 31 ; College of Physicians and 

Surgeons 16 



BASEBALL 



Lineup 

Brown Catcher 

Rowell Pitcher 

Williamson First Base 

Cook Second Base 

Boden Third Base 

Weary 5hort Stop 

Reynolds Left Field 

Myers Right Field 

McChesney Center Field 



:htel 
:htel 
:htel 
:hfel 



2; 

10; 

0: 

5; 



Games 
Wooster 28 
Hiram 1 1 
Mt. Union 17 
Mt. Union 14 



1903 
FOOTBALL 



Lineup 

H. Knight Left End 

Swanson, W. Rockwell Left Tackle 

Rickert Left Guard 

France Center 

Carter Right Guard 

M. Knight Right Tackle 

Allyn, Koplin Right End 

Jahant Quarter 

Crist, Harpham Right Half 

Brown Left Half 

Thomas (capt.) ^ „ Full Back 



Games 
Buchtel 0; Mt. Union 10 
Buchtel 0; Hiram 33 



434 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



BASKETBALL 

Lineup Games 

Chapman Left Forward Buchtel 1 1 ; Mt. Union 38 

Parshall Right Forward Buchtel 9; Wooster 36 

Swanson Center Buchtel 14; Mt. Union 17 

H. Knight Left Guard Buchtel 28; Baldwin-Wallace 12 

Weary, Fichthorne, Buchtel 3; Reserve 26 

Warner Right Guard Buchtel 24; Wooster 13 

Buchtel 33; East End A. C. 15 

Buchtel 26 ; Byers (Ravenna) 1 1 



BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Brown Catcher Buchtel 0; Wooster 18 

Chapman Pitcher Buchtel I ; Hiram 12 

Rowell First Base 

Mihills Second Base 

Parshall Third Base 

Weary Short Stop 

Crist Left Field 

Spangler Right Field 

Miller Center Field 



1904 

BASEBALL 

Lineup Games 

Simmons Catcher Buchtel 2; Mt. Union 26 

Chapman Pitcher Buchtel 0; Wooster 15 

Smith First Base Buchtel 3; Reserve 19 

Parshall Second Base Buchtel 0; Hiram 13 

Reynolds „...Third Base Buchtel 9; Mt. Union 10 

Welsh „ Short Stop Buchtel 8; Alumni 5 

Crist Left Field 

Spangler Right Field 

Brown Center Field 

Brenizer Manager 



BASKETBALL 

Lineup Games 

Parshall (capt.) Left Forward Buchtel 34; Baldwin-Wallace 5 

Chapman Right Forward Buchtel 13; Byers 16 

Swanson Center Buchtel 24; Mt. Union 28 

H. Knight Left Guard Buchtel 18; Mt. Union 19 

Harpham Right Guard Buchtel 20; Reserve 21 

Buchtel 31 ; Reserve 45 

Buchtel 20; Case 27 

Buchtel 49; Wooster 20 

Buchtel 45; Kenyon 9 

Buchtel 13; Byers 32 



APPENDIX 



4i5 



1905 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

Parshall Left Forward Buchtel 58 

Jahant Right Forward Buchtel 40 

Chapman Center Buchtel 55 

H. Knight (capt.) Left Guard Buchtel 26 

Harpham Right Guard Buchtel 18 

Buchtel 31 
Buchtel 27 
Buchtel 42 
Buchtel 54 
Buchtel 45 
Buchtel 30 
Buchtel 24 
Buchtel 17 



Games 
Baldwin- Wallace 14 
Ashland 18 
Ashland 23 
Reserve 34 
Oberlln 50 
U. of W. Va. 25 
Oberlin 41 
Hiram 29 
U. of Ind. 24 
Reserve 1 8 
Ml. Union 24 
Canton 33 
Mt. Union 23 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

Simmons Catcher Buchtel 4; Hiram 3 

Russ Pitcher Buchtel I ; Reserve 9 

Smith First Base Buchtel 15; Alumni 2 

Parshall Second Base 

Chapman, Reynolds Third Base 

Welsh _ Short Stop 

Crist Left Field 

Goehring, Iredell Right Field 

Reynolds, Goehring Center Field 

TRACK 

High man — Goehring, 27 points. Meet won by the Class of 1908, 52 points. 

100 yds. — Goehring, time, 10% seconds. 

High Jump — Carnahan, height, 5 ft. 

Hammer — Chapman, distance, 97 ft. 

Shot — Goehring, distance, 38 ft. 3 in. 

220 Hurdles — Lang, time, 32 seconds. 

220 Dash — Goehring, time, 23% seconds. 

Running Broad — Myers, distance, 17 ft. 9 in. 

Half Mile — Goehring. 

NO FOOTBALL TEAM THIS FALL 





1906 






BASKETBALL 






Lineup 




Games 


Jahant 


Left Forward 


Buchtel 35; 


Baldwin- Wallace 18 


H. Smith 


Right Forward 


Buchtel 22; 


Ravenna 21 


Carnahan ... 


Center 


Buchtel 40; 


Ravenna 27 


H. Knight .. 


Left Guard 


Buchtel 14; 


Allegheny 27 
Baldwin- Wallace 33 


Iredell 


Right Guard 


Buchtel 12; 






Buchtel 39; 


Kenyon 6 






Buchtel 17; 


O. S. U. 20 






Buchtel 10; 


Mt. Union 17 






Buchtel 42; 


Mt. Union 3 






Buchtel 23; 


Allegheny 34 






Buchtel 11: 


Hiram 37 






Buchtel 12; 


Reserve 27 






Buchtel 40; 


Hiram 10 



436 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



BASEBALL 



LiNEUF 
Simmons (capt.) ..™„..^.„^=„^.Catchey 

Stebbins Pitcher 

H. Smith First Base 

Heacock .Second Base 

Mars Third Base 

Welch JShort Stop 

Goehring Left Field 

Clevenger Right Field 

Myers .Center Field 



Buchtel 
Buchtel 
Buchtel 



Game* 
Mt. Union 5 
Hiram 10 
Case 19 



1907 
BASKETBALL 



Lineup 

Jahant (capt.) Right Forward 

H. Smith, Welch Left Forward 

Carnahan, Feudner Center 

Harpham Right Guard 

Iredell Left Guard 



Games 

Buchtel 27; Byers 35 

Buchtel 36; Yale 30 

Buchtel 42; Ashland 20 

Buchtel 38; Ohio Medics 9 

Buchtel 28; Mt. Union 21 

Buchtel 22; O. S. U. 26 

Buchtel 38; Haskell Indians 26 



BASEBALL 



Lineup 

Moore Catcher 

D. Smith Pitcher 

H. Smith First Base 

V. Read .Second Base 

Belden Third Base 

M. Read Short Stop 

Iredell Left Field 

Clevenger Right Field 

Myers Center Field 



Buchtel 10; 

Buchtel 5 ; 

Buchtel 0; 

Buchtel 12; 

Buchtel 0; 



Games 
Baldwin-Wallace 14 
Oberlin 6 
Case 7 

Baldwin-Wallace 3 
Case 7 



1908 
BASKETBALL 



Lineup 

Jahant Left Forward 

H. Smith Right Forward 

Williams Center 

liedell Left Guard 

V. Read Right Guard 



Buchtel 28; 
Buchtel 76; 
Buchtel 33; 
Buchtel 21 ; 
Buchtel 23; 
Buchtel 17; 



Games 
Yale 32 
Ashland 8 
Wooster 24 
Reserve 24 
Mt. Union 34 
Wooster 44 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

H. Smith (capt.), Williams Catcher Buchtel 4; Baldwin-Wallace 10 

Belden, Sisler Pitcher Buchtel 4; Baldwin- Wallace 8 

Dobson, Williams First Base Buchtel 6; Hiram 1 

V. Read, Iredell JSecond Base 

Fouch Third Base 

Alderfer, Belden Short Stop 

Iredell Left Field 

Halinan Right Field 

Myers, Goehring Center Field 



APPENDIX 



437 



FOOTBALL 

LlNXUP 

Jahant. McGarry „ Left End Buchlcl 0; 

V. Read Left Tackle Buchtel 0; 

Costigan, Moore Left Guard Buchtel 5; 

Gulick Center Buchtel 0; 

Conrad Right Guard Buchtel 1 1 ; 

Fuciw (capt.) Right Tackle Buchtel 10; 

Kelley. Dutt Right End Buchtel 6; 

Dobson. Williams Quarter 

Belden Left Half 

Reese Right Half 

Williams. Kelley. Carter Full Back 

1909 
BASKETBALL 

Lineup 

Jahant, Sisler Left Forward Buchtel 54 

Risch, Cruickshank Right Forward Buchtel 58 

V. Read. Moore Center Buchtel 22 

Iredell (capt.) Left Guard Buchtel 15 

Williams, Hotchkiss Right Guard Buchtel 14 

Buchtel 15 
Buchtel 33 
Buchtel 17 
Buchtel 29 
Buchtel 13 
Buchtel 13 
Buchtel 30 
Buchtel 54 



Games 
Wooster 16 
Pitt. Lyceum 36 
Mt. Union 9 
Hiram 4 
Bethany 10 
Hiram 
Findley 5 



Games 
Baldwin- Wallace 
St. Ignatius 10 
U. of Penn. 30 
Wooster 23 
Canton 36 
Baldwin- Wallace 
Kenyon 22 
Wooster 19 
Reserve 33 
Allegheny 44 
Rochester 37 
Denison 19 
Mt. Union 13 



10 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

Moore Catcher Buchtel 3; Oberlin 9 

Sisler. Roetzei Pitcher Buchtel 10; Baldwin-Wallace 8 

Williams First Base Buchtel 2; Case 19 

Belden Second Base Buchtel 4; Reserve 8 

Fouch Third Base Buchtel 0; Hiram 5 

Roetzei Short Stop 

Iredell Left Field 

V. Read. Gilchrist Right Field 

Alderfer, Franks Center Field 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Fleming. V. Read Left End Buchtel 0; Reserve 24 

Zimmerman, Moore Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Mt. Union 24 

Costigan Left Guard Buchtel 5; Allegheny 

Gulick Center Buchtel 1 1 ; Hiram 

Moore, Conrad Right Guard Buchtel 0; Mt. Union 11 

Brainard Right Tackle Buchtel 6; Findlay 

Dutt Right End Buchtel 8; Hiram 10 

Grimm Quarter 

Boone Left Half 

Risch Right Half 

Belden. Bethel. Jacbon Full 



438 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



1910 

BASKETBALL 

Lineup Games 

Cruickshank Left Forward Buchtel 29; Wesleyan Medics 17 

Risch (capt.). Bethel. Buchtel 14; Ohio Wesleyan 17 

Grimm Right Forward Buchtel 22; Baldwin- Wallace 12 

Zimmerman, Jackson Center Buchtel 21 ; Wooster 27 

Sisler, Jackson, Gulick Left Guard Buchtel 34; All Stars 20 

Schultz, Sisler Right Guard Buchtel 25; Kenyon 23 

Buchtel 31; Baldwin- Wallace 17 

Buchtel 14; Wooster 27 



BASEBALL 

Lineup 

Zimmerman Catcher Buchtel 

Grimm, Sisler Pitcher Buchtel 

Alderfer First Base Buchtel 

Fouch Second Base Buchtel 

Shipman, Grimm Third Base Buchtel 

Hollinger Short Stop Buchtel 

Manthey, Jackson Left Field Buchtel 

Pomeroy, Keys Right Field 

Bumham Center Field 





Games 





Hiram 6 


1 


Oberlin 2 


1 


St. Ignatius 4 


1 


Hiram 2 


6 


Ignatius 3 


I 


Case 2 


11 


Baldwin-Wallace 



FOOTBALL 

Lineup 

Wilhoyl Left End Buchtel 

Costigan Left Tackle Buchtel 3 

Zimmerman Left Guard Buchtel 31 

Selby Center Buchtel 40 

Scott Right Guard Buchtel 

Conrad Right Tackle Buchtel 5 

Grimm Right End Buchtel 23 

C. Weeks Quarter Buchtel 12 

Criss Left Half Buchtel 22 

Akers Right Half 

Jackson Full 



Games 
Reserve 7 
Oberlin 
Wooster 
Hiram 
Notre Dame 51 
Mt. Union 3 
Heidelberg 5 
Allegheny 6 
Marietta II 



1911 
BASKETBALL 



Lineup 

Criss Left Forward 

Wilson Right Forward 

Wilhoyt Center 

Zimmerman Left Guard 

Sisler Right Guard 



Buchtel 44 
Buchtel 27 
Buchtel 23 
Buchtel 20 
Buchtel 22 
Buchtel 45 
Buchtel 39 
Buchtel 41 
Buchtel 37 
Buchtel 33 
Buchtel 16 
Buchtel 34 



Games 
Baldwin-Wallace 26 
Ohio Wesleyan 24 
Cleveland Y. M. C. A. 43 
Allegheny 47 
Wooster 23 
Case All Stars 19 
Heidelberg 27 
Pittsburgh 15 
Denison 1 8 
Marietta 22 
Mt. Union 21 
Kenyon 15 



APPENDIX 



439 



BASEBALL 



Lineup 

Zimmerman Catcher 

Sisler Pitcher 

Jackson Fi"t Base 

Wilson Second Base 

Sidnell Third Base 

Grimm Short Stop 

Head Left Field 

Ewart Right Field 

Foltz, Gilbert Center Field 



Games 

Buchtel I ; Wooster 

Buchtel 1; Heidelberg 7 

Buchtel 7; Mt. Union 6 

Buchtel 4; Heidelberg 3 

Buchtel 5; Case 3 

Buchtel 2; Hiram 6 

Buchtel 2; Mt. Union 10 



FOOTBALL 

Lineup 

Charles Criss Right End Buchtel 48; 

Guy Zimmerman Right Tackle Buchtel 0; 

Peter Vittel Right Guard Buchtel 0; 

Ralph Waldsmith Center Buchtel 0; 

Farlin Hockensmith Left Guard Buchtel 26; 

Charles Costigan Left Tackle Buchtel 0; 

John Grimm Left End Buchtel 0; 

Ernest Adams Quarter Back Buchtel 6; 

Albert Sidnell Right Halfback 

Arthur Bethel Left Halfback 

Leo Jackson Fullback 

Church, Gilbert, Whigam, 

Thomas ^Substitutes 



Games 
Muskingum 2 
Mt. Union 9 
Hiram 3 
Marietta 5 
O. N. U. 
W. R. U. 
Case 5 
Allegheny 



1912 
BASKETBALL 



Lineup 

Criss Left Forward 

Wilson Right Forward 

Zimmerman Center 

Barnette Right Guard 

Jackson Left Guard 

Church, Sisler .Substitutes 



Games 
Buchtel 12; Wesleyan 32 
Buchtel 13; Wesleyan 61 
Buchtel 32; Reserve 29 
Buchtel 38; Case 23 
Buchtel 36; Baldwin- Wallace 30 
Buchtel 41 ; Heidelberg 20 
Buchtel 20; Marietta 33 
Buchtel 21; Ohio 18 
Buchtel 38; Marietta 15 



BASEBALL 



Lineup 

J. Thomas First Base 

Grimm Short Stop 

G. Bruner Right Field 

Adams Third Base 

Sisler Left Field 

Sidnell Pitcher 

Jackson JSecond Base 

Zimmerman ^*i5^" 

Wright Center Field 

Moutct, P. Crisp Substitutes 



Games 

Buchtel 10; Mt. Union 7 

Buchtel 4; Mt. Union 3 

Buchtel 9; Heidelberg 

Buchtel 9; Reserve 12 

Buchtel 16; Heidelberg 2 

Buchtel 16; Baldwin-Wallace 

Buchtel 2; Hiram 1 



440 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



FOOTBALL 
Uneuf Gamss 

CriM Right End Buchtel 3; Cwe 

Yackee ..Right Tackle Buchtel 30; Phio Northern 13 

Vittel Right Guard Buchtel 0; Reserve 7 

Waldsmith Center Buchtel 33; Hiram 3 

Hockensmith Left Guard Buchtel 0; Mt. Union 13 

P. Crisp Left Tackle Buchtel 27; Ohio University 

Grimm Left End Buchtel 0; Allegheny 

Adams Quarter Buchtel 12; Marietta 

C. Palmer Rgiht Half 

Ranney Left Half 

Zimmerman Full Back 

J. Thomas, G. Bruner, 

Church Substitutes 

1913 

BASKETBALL 

Lineup Games 

Frese Right Forward Buchtel 21; Ohio State 19 

C. Palmer Left Forward Buchtel 36; Kenyon 19 

Zimmerman Center Buchtel 36; Reserve 12 

Foltz Right Guard Buchtel 30; Ohio University 12 

Barnette Left Guard Buchtel 22; Otterbein University 20 

Buchtel 35; Michigan State University 

30 
Buchtel 20; Ohio Wesleyan 28 
Buchtel 44; Marietta 17 

BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

Frese Short Stop Buchtel 9; Ohio State 8 

G. Bruner Center Field Buchtel 2; Carnegie Tech. 5 

Sidnell Pitcher Buchtel 5; Muskingum 3 

J. Thomas First Base Buchtel 3; Reserve I 

Adams Third Base Buchtel 2; Case 3 

Zimmerman Center Field Buchtel 5; Chinese University of Hon- 

Grimm JSecond Base olulu 10 

Sickler Left Field Buchtel 5; Carnegie Tech. 8 

C. Palmer Right Field 

R. Taylor, Watters, Moutes, 

Conger JSubstitutes 

FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Johnson Left End Buchtel 17; Case 36 

P. Crisp Left Tackle Buchtel 0; Allegheny 6 

Foltz, Sours Left Guard Buchtel 38; Otterbein 6 

Waldsmith Center Buchtel 9; West Virginia Wesleyan 7 

Yackee Right Guard Buchtel 0; Michigan Aggies 41 

Driesbach Right Tackle Buchtel 23; Marietta 

Eberhardt Right End Buchtel 0; Reserve 7 

C. Palmer Quarter Back 

Ranney, Sidnell Left Halfback 

Ross .....Right Halfback 

Swinehart, Sidnell ....Fullback 

W. Smith. C. Weeks, Watter*. 

Slaasfiald, Crawford ..., Substitute* 



APPENDIX 



441 



1914 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

C. Palmer Left Forward Akron 20; 

Slan»field Right Forward Akron 43; 

J. Knowlton Center Akron 10; 

Driesbach Left Guard Akron 22; 

Davit Right Guard Akron 33; 

Mertz, Rood Substitutes Akron 13; 

Akron 25; 

Akron 13; 

Akron 16; 

Akron 30; 

Akron 23; 

Akron 24; 

FOOTBALL 
Lineup 

Ranney Left End Akron 7; 

P. Crisp Left Tackle Akron 13; 

Foitz Left Guard Akron 7; 

Sours Center Akron 3; 

W. Smith Right End Akron 13; 

Driesbach Right Tackle Akron 6; 

Yackee, Johnson Right Guard Akron 47; 

C. Palmer Quarter Back Akron 33; 

C. Weeks Full Back Akron 6; 

Stansfield, G. Bruncr Left Half Akron 20; 

Ross Right Half 

1915 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

C. Palmer Left Forward Akron 24 

J. Knowlton, Stansfield-.-Righl Forward Akron 19 

C. Weeks Center Akron 25 

P. Crisp Right Guard Akron 19 

Smith Left Guard Akron 21 

Akron 31 

Akron 16 

Akron 14 

Akron 12 

Akron 14 

Akron 22 

Akron 18 

BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Ross Pitcher Akron 13 

C. Palmer Catcher Akron 1 

P. Crisp First Base Akron 5 

R. Taylor Second Base Akron 12 

Crawford Third Base Akron 1 

Shea _ 3hort Stop Akron 6 

Moutes Left Field 

G. Bruner Center Field 

F. Kittelberger Right Field 

Rosa, Kaeale:. Fosnight 3ub«titut«i 



Games 
Chicago University 24 
Ken yon 26 
Ohio State 44 
Ohio Wesleyan 20 
Wooster 26 
Hiram 26 
Reserve 1 8 
Rochester 39 
Otterbein 13 
Michigan Aggies 45 
Allegheny 35 
Marietta 20 



Games 
Case 
Wooster 
Marietta 13 
Allegheny 3 
Kenyon 
Michigan Aggies 75 
Wittenberg 3 
Freshmen 
Reserve 1 3 
Culver 27 



Games 
Wooster 1 8 
Kenyon 30 
Case 23 
Hiram 35 
Mt. Union 33 
Wooster 34 
Cincinnati 32 
Miami 38 
Ohio Wesleyan 40 
Wittenberg 39 
Baldwin-Wallace 44 
Reserve 24 



Games 
Denison 3 
Reserve 6 
Mt. Union ' 
Case 10 
Oberlin 9 
Kenyon 



442 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup 

Fosnight Left End Akron 0; 

P. Crisp Left Tackle Akron 6; 

Sours Left Guard Akron 0; 

W. Crisp Center Akron 0; 

Yackee „ Right Guard Akron 0; 

Driesbach Right Tackle Akron 7; 

Swineharl Right End Akron 0; 

Tomkinson Quarter Back Akron 0; 

Stansficld Left Half Akron 7; 

Crawford Right Half 

Rogers Full Back 

C. Palmer, J. Knowlton, Azar, 

Bevington Substitutes 



Games 
Case 26 
Miami 23 
Allegheny 10 
Oberlin 42 
Reserve 53 
Wooster 20 
Ohio Northern 
Denison 65 
Kenyon 



1916 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

J. Knowlton Left Forward Akron 36; 

F. Kittelberger Right Forward Akron 23; 

Tomkinson Center Akron 37; 

W. Smith Left Guard Akron 28; 

Driesbach Right Guard Akron 23; 

Shea, Boedicker, Rouse, Akron 22; 

C. Pfahl, Stansfield .....Substitutes Akron 39; 

Akron 37; 
Akron 33; 
Akron 19; 



Games 
Alumni 1 3 
Wooster 33 
Toledo 8 
Reserve 37 
Ohio University 33 
Case 40 

Baldwin-Wallace 35 
Kent Normal 16 
Kenyon 1 4 
Wooster 36 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

Green, Sours Catcher Akron 12; Kent Normal I 

Rogers Pitcher Akron 4; Case 2 

M. Snyder First Base Akron 6; Mt. Union 7 

Shea Second Base Akron 8; Reserve 6 

Sickler Short Stop Akron I; Wooster 10 

Tomkinson Third Base Akron 2; Denison 12 

Boedicker Left Field Akron I ; Waseda University 

Crawford Center Field Tokio, Japan, 6 

F. Kittelberger Right Field ' 

Roth. Earle Substitutes '?' | 



[i'^yrsfiipjj 



TRACK 

Team: Richardson, Crawford, J. Knowlton, Joel, Swinehart, Converse, Dries- 
bach, Gillen, Mitchell, C. Pfahl, Rowse, Shaffer. 

Results 
Akron 47; Mt. Union 48 
Akron 39; Baldwin-Wallace 96 
Cross Country: Shaffer, Christy, Converse, F. Kittelberger, Rowse. 

Results 
Akron 39; Wooster 16 
Akron 40; Oberlia 15 



APPENDIX 



443 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Swinehart Left End Akron 53; Baldwin-Wallace 

Rogers Left Tackle Akron 7; Wooster 29 

Miller Left Guard Akron 3; Reserve 14 

J. Knowlton Center Akron 0; Heidelberg 6 

Kuszmaul Right Guard Akron 0; Mt. Union 26 

Driesbach Right Tackle Akron 14; Ohio Northern 7 

Bierce Right End Akron 6; Denison 34 

Tomkinson .Quarter Back Akron 7; Hiram 34 

Stansfield Left Half Akron 0; Allegheny 33 

Haley Right Half 

C. Pfahl Full Back 

Mertz, Vogt, Shea, Boedicker, 

Richardson, Azar, Whalen, 

Fish Substitutes 



1917 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

Tomkinson Left Forward Akron 36 

F. Kittelberger Right Forward Akron 36 

J. Knowlton Center Akron 64 

Shea Left Guard Akron 28 

Whalen Right Guard Akron 32 

Wortman, Spicer, Boedicker, Akron 46 

Stansfield, Rowse, Kusz- Akron 39 

maul, Cable Substitutes Akron 50 

Akron 39 
Akron 55 
Akron 52 
Akron 1 1 
Akron 31 
Akron 34 
Akron 28 
Akron 29 



Games 

Alumni 8 

Wooster 20 

Kent Normal 8 

Ohio University 22 

Denison 23 

Ohio University 13 

Heidelberg 35 

Ohio Northern 19 

Wooster 17 

Baldwin-Wallace 1 1 

Mf. Union 24 

Case 28 

Reserve 25 

Geneva 24 

Grove City 29 

Wheeling Y. M. C. A. 21 



BASEBALL 
Lineup 

Boedicker Outfield Akron 

Tomkinson Pitcher, Third Base Akron 

Bierce Catcher Akron 

Haley JSecond Base Akron 

W. Pfahl Center Field Akron 

Swigart Short Stop Akron 

Green Outfield Akron 

Welker Third Base Akron 

M. Snyder First Base 



Games 

8; Ohio University 3 

I; Marshall College 8 

2; Ohio Northern 5 

4; Heidelberg 3 

0; Wooster 9 

14; Case 2 

3 ; Reserve 2 

5; Wooster 8 



TRACK 

Team: J. Knowlton, Richardson, Swinehart, Christy, Rowse, Gillen, Joel, 
Haley, C. Pfahl. F. Kittelberger, Converse, Shaffer. 

Cross Country: Rowse. Christy, Joel. Converse, Shaffer. F. Kittelberger. 

Results 
Oberlio 17; Akron 20 



444 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



FOOTBALL 

LiNiup Games 

Tomkinson ..„ Quarter Back Akron 33; Muskingum 3 

Haley Half Back Akron 6; Heidelberg 34 

Roger* Tackle Akron 33; Reserve 

Bierce Right End Akron 6; Wooster 7 

A. Knowlton, Vogt Guard Akron 20; Ohio Northern 

Avery, Boedicker Center Akron 20; Mt. Union 

W. Pfahl Guard Akron 25; Camp Sherman 7 

Close Left End Akron 0; Allegheny 33 

Welker Half Back 



1918 

BASKETBALL 

Lineup 

Whalen Guard Akron 34 

Tomkinson Forward Akron 45 

A. Knowlton Center Akron 35 

Swigart Guard Akron 44 

Boedicker Forward Akron 48 

Rowse _ JSubstitute Akron 23 

Akron 50 
Akron 33 
Akron 29 
Akron 34 
Akron 23 
Akron 28 
Akron 18 



Games 
Alumni 9 
Hiram 16 
Wooster 16 
Mt. Union 17 
Baldwin- Wallace 13 
Wooster 15 
Ohio Northern 15 
East Liberty Y. M. 43 
Geneva 36 
Grove City 32 
Case 25 

Capital City 18 
Wittenberg 25 



TRACK 

Team: Rowse (captain). Christy, A. Knowlton, Haley, Whalen, Tomkinson, 
Ellsworth, Bierce, Swigart, Purdy, W. Pfahl, Williams. 

Results 

Case 71; Akron 60 



FOOTBALL 

Lineup 

Whalen Right End Akron 

Koppas Right Tackle Akron 

Carmichael Right Guard Akron 

Wert Center Akron 

W. Pfahl Left Guard Akron 

Frase Left Tackle 

Koerber Left End 

Swigart, Wise Quarter Back 

Evans „ „ Left Half 

Daum „ Right Half 

Wooiley „..„J"ull Back 



39; 

0; 

0; 
30; 

0; 



Games 
Muskingum 
Wooster 26 
Mt. Union 21 
Baldwin- Wallace 
Case 0. 



APPENDIX 



445 



1919 

BASKETBALL 

Lineup Games 

A. Knowlton Center Akron 35; Hiram 14 

Swigart Right Forward Akron 41; Kenyon 13 

Wentz Left Forward Akron 47; Case 15 

Whalen „ ...Right Guard Akron 36; Baldwin-Wallace 14 

Haley Left Guard Akron 63; Ohio Northern 10 

Akron 32; Mt. Union 31 

Akron 40; "Wooster 12 

Akron 21 ; Denison 14 

Akron 25; Case 19 

Akron 44; Kenyon 21 

Akron 30; Denison 21 

Akron 28; Goodyear 19 

Akron 32; Reserve 21 

Akron 21 ; Wooster 8 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

E. Lancaster Left Field Akron 10; Denison 6 

W. Pfahl First Base Akron 14; Reserve 1 

Swigart Shortstop Akron vs. Wooster (Cancelled) 

Haley Second Base Akron 3; Wooster 11 

Wentz Third Base Akron 8; Heidelberg 9 

Whalen Center Field Akron 2; Ohio University 12. 

Williard Catcher 

Post Right Field 

Wortman _ Pitcher 

Rogers Pitcher 

Fosnight Pitcher 



TRACK 

Team: Haley, Rowley, Wentz, E. Lancaster, A. Knowlton, W. 
Post. Purdy, Moore, Shaffer, Swigart, W. Pfahl. Williams. 

Results 



Knowlton, 



Akron 73; Goodyear 55 

Akron 53; Case 77 

Interclass won by Sophomores, 



71 



FOOTBALL 
Lineup Games 

Daum Left End Akron 27; Hiram 

A. Knowiton Left Tackle Akron 33; Baldwin- Wallace 

Boedicker Left Guard Akron 10; Ohio University 6 

Wentz Center Akron 24; Ohio Northern 

W. Pfahl Right Guard Akron 22; Mt. Union 

Eckert Right Tackle Akron 0; Wooster 19 

Bierce Right End Akron 17; Reserve 7 

Haley Quarter Back Akron 6; Case 6 

Swigart Right Half 

C. Pfahl Full Back 

Whalen Right Half 

Post Left Half 

Close Right Ejid 



446 



FIFTY YEARS OF BUCHTEL 



1920 
BASKETBALL 
Lineup 

Swigart (capt.) Right Forward Akron 25 

Wentz Left Forward and Center Akron 19 

A. Knowlton Center Akron 24 

Boedicker Right Guard Akron 26 

Daum Left Guard Akron 29 

W. Knowlton Left Forward Akron 30 

Akron 38 
Akron 26 
Akron 28 
Akron 20 
Akron 35 
Akron 21 
Akron 24 
Akron 37 



Games 
Hiram 1 1 
Oberlin 16 
Baldwin- Wallace 
Reserve 1 5 
Wooster 12 
Mt. Union 27 
Kenyon 1 3 
Oberlin 18 
Wittenberg 32 
Wooster 15 
Case 23 
Denison 28 
Wittenberg 19 
Case 22 



13 



BASEBALL 
Lineup Games 

E. Lancaster Left Field Akron 16; Case 17 

Boedicker Center Field Akron 0; Wooster 9 

Williard Right Field Akron 2; Goodyear 9 

W. Pfahl First Base 

Daum _ Second Base 

Wentz Third Base 

Swigart Short Stop and Pitcher 

Bierce (capt.) Catcher 

Thornbury Pitcher 

H. Snyder Pitcher and Short Stop 

TRACK 

Team: Bierce, Rowley, Hilbish, Lancaster, A. Knowlton, Wentz, Swigart, 
W. Pfahl, Williams, W. Knowlton, Thornbury, Christy, Daum, Williard, 
Blower, Moore. 

Results 
Case 90; Akron 35 






